Research by van Oordt, Ouwehand, and Paas confirms that design, particularly when it supports viewing nature, can promote mental refreshment. The investigators report that “According to attention restoration theory observing nature has restorative effects on cognitive components, such as working memory, after a cognitive depleting task. Additionally, urban environments are thought to have no effect or even a negative effect on cognitive restoration.
Multiple benefits of nature sounds
EEG-derived data support use
Gaertner and colleagues study how relaxing it is to be in various virtual reality spaces. They report that their “systematic review investigates first, whether virtual interventions can successfully induce changes in the autonomic nervous system associated with relaxation as measured by heart rate variability (HRV), and second, aims to determine whether specific intervention components exist which are necessary for their success. . . . [studies evaluated] found a significant physiological effect of a virtual relaxation intervention on HRV.
Zhang and colleagues report on the implications of exercising in different conditions. They learned that “Physical activity performed in a natural environment, especially among green spaces, is associated with mental health benefits. . . . [study participants] engaged in incremental cycling exercise at a moderate intensity while viewing an image in front of them on a large screen. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four groups in which the image they viewed was a green tree, an achromatic tree, a formless color green, or a formless achromatic color. . . .
Seeing art online may be as useful as viewing it in real life. Investigators learned that “Brief online art viewing can significantly reduce negative mood and anxiety. . . . we used a Monet interactive art exhibition from Google Arts and Culture to deepen our understanding of the role of pleasure, meaning, and individual differences in the responsiveness to art. . .
How does background music influence stress and our performance on manual tasks? Felszeghy and teammates set out to answer this question by studying dental students listening to what was categorized as “slow background music”: “the music reduced stress but also increased motivation to learn and practice. . . . Time use and quality of cavity preparation were enhanced.
When we’re in a physical or virtual space that seems like it’s the wrong size, either too big or too small, we’re tense and that’s not good for our quality-of-life or mental/physical achievement. Neuroscience research findings can help us right-size perceptions of the places where we find ourselves.
Some sorts of water are better
How loud, how calming