Support Mental Restoration/Ease Stress

Healthcare Recharge Areas (02-05-21)

Putrino, Ripp, Herrera, Cortes, Kellner, Rizk, and Dams-O’Connor studied the effects of space design on healthcare workers’ moods.  They report that after a neuroscience lab was redesigned as a healthcare staff relaxation area “Frontline healthcare workers were invited to book 15-min experiences in the Recharge Room before, during or after their shifts, where they were exposed to the immersive, multisensory experience. . . users . . . completed a short survey about their experience. . . .

Recap: Looking at Wood (01-29-21)

Lipovac and Burnard review published research related to looking at wood (physical or virtual indoor interactions with real or imitation wood) and reach the conclusion that “Studies with longer exposure times to wood generally observed improved affective states [moods] and decreased physiological arousal in wooden settings. . . . Current evidence suggests that visual wood exposure may improve certain indicators of human stress. . . . Current research suggests that visual wood exposure could lead to beneficial outcomes, but the evidence is limited.  .  .

Fractals and Kids (12-14-20)

Researchers have determined that children as young as 3 respond positively to seeing fractal patterns, just as adults do.  Robles, Taylor, Sereno, Liaw, and Baldwin found that “Before their third birthdays, children already have an adult-like preference for visual fractal patterns commonly seen in nature. . . . We found that people [both adults and children] prefer the most common natural pattern, the statistical fractal patterns of low-moderate complexity . . . ’ Robles said. . .

Wooden Effects (11-25-20)

Salvador, in the course of a furniture design project, completed a literature review focused on the psychological implications of experiencing wooden materials.  He reports that “A literary review based study revealed woodenmaterials in interiors and objects to have a positive psychological influence in humans, with a pacifying and relaxing effect.”

Evergreens In Landscapes (11-10-20)

Wang and Zhao evaluated how the presence or absence of evergreen trees influences environmental preferences and psychological restoration.  They report that “Evergreen plants can mediate landscape changes across seasons and increase greenness when deciduous trees are leafless. . . . this study conducted an experiment, in which, based on four photographs taken on a site in four seasons, 24 images were created using the photomontage technique by adding evergreen trees to the original pictures.

At Home During the Pandemic (10-27-20)

Meagher and Cheadle researched links between mental health and home design during the COID-19 outbreak. They determined that people who were attached to their homes are less stressed and anxious.  As the researchers report, “Many people are spending more time in their homes due to work from home arrangements, stay at home orders, and closures of businesses and public gathering spaces. . . . we explored how one’s attachment to their home may help to buffer their mental health during this stressful time.  Data were collected from a three-wave . . . sampling. . . .

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