Nature Sounds and Stress
Adding nuances to knowledge
Adding nuances to knowledge
Goldenberg and colleagues link learning indoors and outside to soundscapes. The team found via physiological data collected from 4 – 5 year olds in urban schools that “children’s resting heart rates while seated and listening to a teacher were significantly lower when outside compared to indoors. . . . Children also moved more while seated during indoor sessions. . . . outdoor learning sessions were significantly quieter than indoor ones, both when children were seated, listening to a teacher . . . and when actively engaged in play and learning activities. . . .
Yin, Li, Xu, Jiao, and Yang evaluated responses to virtual Autumn scenes. They share that participants in their study “were exposed to virtual environments featuring autumn color landscapes and bare tree landscapes using visual, auditory, and combined conditions. . . . In general, within the autumn landscape, a rich array of colors contributes more to recovery compared to monochromatic scenes (such as the barren tree landscape). . . .
Gyllensten and teammates studied, via interviews, employee perceptions of soundscapes in communication-intense workplaces, those in healthcare environments and at preschools. They learned that “The dependence on vocal communication and social interaction poses a challenge using hearing protection in these working environments. . . . Workers in communication-intense workplaces in preschools, obstetrics care and intensive care reported that there was a relationship between the sound environment and negative health effects. . .
Deng, Rising, Gu, and Bimal evaluated the effects of various soundscapes on the stress generated by traffic noise. They report that “mixing baseline traffic noise with water sound at a low SNR [signal-to-noise ratio] significantly reduced stress, whereas mixing with the white noise of a high FC [fractal complexity] increased stress. This discovery highlights the varying stress-mitigating effects of distinct fractal sounds on traffic noise and advocates for the application of water sound with a low SNR and low FC as an effective criterion for urban noise mitigation strategies. . . .
Research by a Fattahpour-lead team indicates that there are positive implications of nature soundscaping hospital emergency departments. The researchers report that “Nature sound was played for an hour at the commencement and conclusion of each work shift for two months. Subsequently, participants completed the three questionnaires. . . . Introducing nature sounds in the emergency department reduced job stress and increased staff productivity. However, job satisfaction levels did not change significantly. . . .
Zhu and teammates link hearing nature sounds to better health. They found that “Listening to natural sounds, both live and recorded, in either a natural or built environment is considered natural sound exposure (NSE). . . . Fifteen studies . . . were selected for [a] meta-analysis. . . . results indicate that NSE has certain positive effects: (a) In terms of emotional changes, NSE significantly reduces anxiety. . . . (b) In terms of physiological reaction, NSE resulted in reduced heart rate (HR) . . . systolic blood pressure . . . diastolic blood pressure . . .
Bergefurt and teammates evaluated the implications of at-workplace soundmasking. They report that “To date, most studies on sound masking are short-term laboratory studies. . . . The current study aims to evaluate, using a longitudinal field study . . . at two organizations, whether level-adaptive sound masking could reduce intelligible speech and increase mental health, while being exposed to level-adaptive sound masking for two to three months.
Acoustics have major consequences for what we think and what we do. Design decisions can intentionally and coincidentally influence what users hear – neuroscience indicates the acoustic conditions that maximize user wellbeing and performance, and designers’ reputations.
Understanding related sensations