Daylight reduces burnout
A team lead by Ziabari found that “The research question was to identify the connection between daylight, nature-view windows, and hospital staff burnout during Covid-19. . . . Three questionnaires were used: demographic, physical...
Trees Reduces the Heat
Sahani and team determined that “Nature-based solutions (NBS) such as green (vegetation) and blue (waterbodies) infrastructure are being promoted as cost-effective and sustainable strategies for managing the heatwaves risks, but long-term monitoring evidence is...
Beaches are best!
Hooyberg and colleagues, using virtual reality, determined that “beaches caused lower breathing rates than urban environments and lower SCR [skin conductance responses] than green environments. . . . the heart rate, HF-HRV [high-frequency heart...
Biophilia in Space
Winn and colleagues report that “Natural materials, biomorphic forms, and the incorporation of plants and green elements are all strategies to implement biophilic design. Biophilic design can improve the cognitive and physiological health of...
Trees vs Social Media and Impact on Stress
Bailey, Anderson, and Cox “explore[d] the mechanisms of active and passive leisure influence through real-time tracking of mental states while incurring a standard ‘dose’ of social media and walking. Results indicate that social media...
Windows onto the World!
When going outside can seem like a burden, looking at it from inside seems like a better and better option. Take a minute now, while fixes are relatively easy and pleasant, to fine tune...
Add some gentle Movement in your Home….
Winter and time spent inside can be both stressful and boring. Some gentle movement in the spaces where you live will change all that. Here, we are talking about curtains that sway slightly and...
Managing the Temperature without touching the Thermostat!
Our brains and bodies work and feel best in spaces where the temperature is 72 degrees Fahrenheit and relative humidity levels are 40% to 70%. Ideal conditions are not always achievable ones. There are...
Biophilic Learning Space Design – Great for Students, Teachers, and the Planet They Live On
When biophilic design principles are applied at places where people are learning and teaching, good things happen—moods and cognitive performance improve (for students and teachers!)—which is always a plus, whether trigonometry or Latin grammar...
Quick Recap – Places to Focus
People learning need to be focusing on what they’re doing. Design supports focus when it: Uses colours that are not very saturated and are relatively light—a sage green or smokey blue with lots of...
Optimising Mental Energy Levels via Design
We do mentally easier tasks in spaces that are relatively energising places to be and those that require us to be more thoughtful, that are more challenging, in spaces where the design vibe is...
Using Spaces to Remember…
Human minds really are fascinating and the way they work means that using spaces in particular ways can help us remember things. When we’re working or just musing, we offload thoughts to the world...
Creating places to mentally refresh?
When your brain has grown tired learning, remembering, etc., design can encourage a quick mental refresh when: You can see through a nearby window to nature outside, particularly if quietly flowing, “friendly” looking water...
Why is gardening good for you?
Lehberger and Sparke’s work confirms that gardening is good for our mental health. They “replicated a study conducted in 2020 in Germany, which focused on comparing garden owners and non-garden owners. Almost exactly one...
Get out there and go for an Open Water Swim!
Overbury, Conroy, and Marks determined that “Open water swimming may lead to improvements in mood and wellbeing, reductions in mental distress symptomatology, and was experienced as a positive, enriching process for many. Blue spaces...
Nature and Mood
Bardhan and teammates report that they “conducted one of the first longer-term investigations of daily nature exposure and mood with a mobile app as part of the NatureDose™ Student Study (NDSS). The NatureDose™ app...
Age of the Modern Farmhouse
Ronda Kaysen shares lots of details about modern farmhouse residential design, labelling it the replacement for McMansions in the psyches of many American residents. As Kaysen shares (“The Modern Farmhouse is Today’s McMansion. And...
Designing for Health and Happiness
Design can definitely make you feel happy, what’s technically known in the psych biz as improving your mental health. Being happier can be good for your physical health, it can make your immune system...
Wild Swimming
Wild swimming has been having a moment, for the last few decades, and likely will get even more attention when people swim in the Seine during the 2024 Paris Olympics—although jumping into the Seine...
More nature = less phone use
Minor and colleagues found that “Evidence links greenspace exposure with restorative benefits to cognition and well-being, yet nature contact is declining for younger demographics. . . . we analyzed ~2.5 million observations of logged...
What shape and colour apartment?
Kleeman and Foster’s study of the implications of spending extended periods of time in home apartments during the COVID-19 lockdowns are fairly predictable: “Compared to the pre-pandemic period, after the lockdown residents reported less satisfaction...
Health by the Sea
Geiger and colleagues report that they analyzed “data from the Seas, Oceans, and Public Health In Europe (SOPHIE) and Australia (SOPHIA) surveys to. . . . find broad cross-country generalizability that living nearer to...
Neuroscience of Water – Seeing it, Hearing it
Water has been and will remain crucial to our species continued existence—so, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that neuroscientists have studied how seeing and hearing water influences what goes on in our heads,...
Sensory Mashup
For better or for worse (mainly for better), most of us have multiple senses working at the same time, all bringing information from the world around us into our brains. All of that material...
If you want a bargain, avoid long sun exposure….
Maybe some things are better off done away from daylight. Sun and colleagues report that “We examine sunshine-induced mood and its impacts on investors’ bidding decisions in the primary market where seasoned equities are...
Setting the Thermometer!
This is the season for thermometer debates—the windows open (or close if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere) and in homes and offices people use whatever means at their disposal to get the temperature set...
Buy the Right Lightbulb for the Right Spot!
The lighting research is clear: Warm light, particularly when it’s dimmer, helps us feel relaxed, creative, and sociable.It’s no coincidence that the Scandinavian way-of-life, hygge (described in detail here), features candles and firelight. Cooler...
Ventilating a Space!
You may or may not have much control over the ventilation where you live or work, you may be able to open or close a window or be able to change the flow rate...
Let there be light – the power of Circadian Rhythms
Figueiro and Pedler make useful suggestions related to circadian lighting: “Open the window shades in your home or office but be careful to avoid creating glare. . . . When sitting by a window,...
Get your Kids into Nature
Li and Sullivan determined that when “Perceived childhood nature exposure was calculated as a cumulative score based on the perceived nature in residential surroundings from up to three childhood home locations weighted by duration...
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