Make-A-Wish Cake
I created the "Make-a-Wish Cake" to let people blow out candles and make wishes anytime, not just on birthdays. The idea was inspired by my cousin, who developed a fear of elevators after being trapped in one. This cake provides a fun, interactive way to practice the deep breathing technique.
Why?
Deep breathing benefits people with anxiety, asthma, stress, and COPD.¹ The candle breathing technique involves sitting up, inhaling deeply as if smelling the cake, and exhaling as if blowing out a candle.
It can be done using fingers or the cake itself for a more engaging experience.²
Practicing deep breathing once or twice daily for 10–20 minutes helps prevent chronic stress responses.³
How?
1. When power is. connected the LED is on (HIGH)
2. The user "smells" the cake taking a deep breath in and holds it. The user then blows on the cake triggering the sound sensor which turns the led off (LOW) and also triggers the tune of happy birthday to be played through the speakers
3. After a delay the candle lights up again ready to be blown again for fun or to continue practicing deep breathing!
Code and Schematic
Above is the schematic for this project. The code for this can be accessed via the button below:
Citations
1. Diaphragmatic breathing exercises & benefits. Cleveland Clinic. (2024, May 1).
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/9445- diaphragmatic-breathing
2. Candle Breathing. Twinkl. (n.d.). https://www.twinkl.ca/teaching-wiki/candle-breathing
3. Relaxation techniques: Breath control helps quell errant stress response. Harvard Health. (2024, July 24). https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/relaxation-techniques-breath-control-helps-quell-errant-stress-response
Early Idea Refined Concept Final Product
