Temperature and Thinking! The hotter it is….
Keivabu and Widmann found that “hot [out of comfort range] days reduce politicians’ language complexity, but not cold days. . . . Our data consists of all parliamentary speeches in Washington D.C. (United States,...
Refreshing with Natural light
Madan and teammates learned via studying previously published literature that there is “a promising level of evidence supporting the restorative [mentally refreshing] effects of daylight. . . . Results showed more beneficial effects for...
Sounds and Stress
Liu and associates studied how various sounds influence mental recovery from stress. They “compar[ed] a silent environment (control group) with three experimental groups exposed to flowing water sound, birdsong, and wind sounds. The investigation...
Extraordinary nature is Powerful
Hao, Zhang, Hou, Lau, and Lau share that “extraordinary, awesome landscapes, such as the mesmerizing Arctic and mysterious underwater scene, particularly contribute to enhancing emotional well-being. . . . volunteers experienced three ordinary natural...
Singing in the Rain…. Negative ions are good for us!
There’s more and more research indicating that negative ions in the air influence what happens inside our heads. Derek Brockway (2024, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c51157ep524o) in “How Rain Can Make You Happier and Healthier,” reports, for example,...
Why do we need Music?
Music seems to be, literally, everywhere we go, from down into the Tube to the park to Carnegie Hall. In a recent article in The New York Times (2024, “Why Do People Make Music?...
If you need more evidence that Gardening is good for you…..
In a recent article for The New York Times, Dana Smith (2024, “Why Gardening Is So Good for You,” https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/23/well/live/gardening-health-benefits.html) discusses the benefits of gardening. They include getting people moving and outdoors as well....
Workplace location, how it affects productivity and creativity
Arata and Kawakubo found that “productivity in simple tasks increased with the frequency of working from home. . . . improving the residential environment, including temperature and humidity control, is critical to enhance productivity...
Why Garden when you’re older?
A research team lead by Corley share that “Gardening in later life was associated with greater gain in cognitive change from age 11 to 79. . . . Higher gardening frequency was associated with...
The Bigger the Window…
Gomez-Sirvent and teammates’ conducted an intriguing study: “a virtual replica of a real conservatoire classroom was used to investigate the effect of window size and views through windows on the perception of the built...
Round is sweet.. but angular is…
Chuquichambi and colleagues report that “People generally associate curved and symmetrical shapes with sweetness, while associating angular and asymmetrical shapes with the other basic tastes (e.g., sour, bitter). . . . The results replicate...
The Biophilic Effect
Via a literature review Vitale and Bonaiuto found that accessing nature, through spending time in nature, looking at images of nature, or something else has positive repercussions: “nature exposure appears to have a positive...
Zoom backdrops – choose wisely, especially for trust…
Houchens and teammates evaluated how patients respond to different scenes behind physicians during Zoom-type telemedicine appointments and their findings are likely more generally applicable. The investigators “assessed patient preferences for various visual backgrounds during...
Foraging, and relative creativity…
Malaie and team link different sorts of foraging behaviour to creativity: “According to accounts of neural reuse and embodied cognition, higher-level cognitive abilities recycle evolutionarily ancient mechanisms for perception and action. . . ....
How we name a scent affects how we “smell” it…
Did you know that what you call a scent or a smell affects how we smell that smell? Okumura and colleagues found that “Olfactory perception depends not only on olfactory inputs but also on...
A shout out for Nature!
Amy Thomas, in “Why ‘Biophilia’ Needs to be Part of Your Next Holiday” (2024, BBC Online,https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20240502-why-biophilia-needs-to-be-part-of-your-next-holiday) encourages people to improve their mental health by spending time outside—something that we talk about a lot here...
Light artistry
Light has special effects on how we think and behave—ponder for example time you’ve spent beside fireplaces or in sun-filled conservatories—while also sending symbolic messages. Recently, at museum shows, artists have been putting light...
Bringing Plants inside – the benefits to help us live well.
Plants indoors and views of nature scenes outdoors are important tenets of biophilic design, as discussed in this article. A recent article on the BBC Online highlights recent design work that maximizes indoor and...
We eat healthier when we see nature… another “Biophilic” effect!
Via 5 experiments Langlois and Chandon learned that “individuals exposed to the natural environment choose healthier foods when compared to those exposed to urban environments or a control condition. Nature’s effects are observed for...
Nature connection and schooling… Biophilic Design and improved cognitive performance!
You and colleagues report, after a virtual reality-based study, that “the addition of biophilic elements in the Metaverse could benefit [young adult] students’ health due to significantly decreased perceived stress levels and increased connections...
Nature is Good for our HEALTH – it could save £108.7million!
Grellier and teammates report that “Physical activity (PA) reduces the risk of several non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Natural environments support recreational PA. . . . Population-representative data from the Monitor of Engagement with the Natural...
Kids, Trees and ADHD
Buczylowska and team share that they “examined the association between lifelong exposure to greenspace and ADHD diagnosis and potential underlying mechanisms (i.e., perceived greenspace, PA [ physical activity], neighbourhood social cohesion, and neighbourhood safety)...
Finding your way and playing video games
Yavuz and colleagues link playing video games and successfully navigating from one place and another. They “investigated the effect of video game experience and reliance on GPS on navigation ability using the mobile app...
Can Nature Heal Inflammation?
Ong, Cintron, and Fuligni link pleasant time spent in nature to lower inflammation levels: “Leveraging survey and biomarker data from 1,244 adults (mean age = 54.50 years, range = 34–84 years) from the Midlife...
Our perception of “Real” differs from person to person…
Pang’s work confirms how complex our relationship is with our world. As Pang reports “We experience only our brain’s internal representation of the outside world, which is limiting in two main ways. First, we...
Active Workstations!
A study done at the Mayo Clinic and lead by Lopez-Jimenez found “that active workstations incorporating a walking pad, bike, stepper and/or standing desk are successful strategies for reducing sedentary time and improving mental...
BBC celebrates Value of Building with Nature
Here at The Space Doctors we spend a lot of time singing the praises of views of nature and indoor plants. In a new article on bbc.com, excepts from Carolo Ratti’s introduction to The...
Feeling comfortable at airports – the credit card pod
Many airports across the United States are adding soothing refuges, applying some of the principles of neuroscience-informed biophilic design that we discuss in The Space Doctors’ articles. Christine Chung (2024, “Now Arriving at an...
Famous Furniture that’s mattered
Furniture regularly determines our mood in a space, with ramifications for our wellbeing, cognitive performance, as discussed in this article. In “The 25 Most Defining Pieces of Furniture from the Last 100 Years,” Nick...
What is the value of Greenspace to children’s development?
Using data collected from over 4 US states, Towe-Goodman and many colleagues link between living near green spaces (for instance, forests, parks, residential yards) and mental health. They report that “greater residential green space...
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