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Previous studies have examined the restorative benefits of soundscapes on adults’ cognitive performance, but it was unclear whether those benefits would be possible for children. In this paper, two experiments applied a before–after design to explore the restorative effects of different soundscapes on children’s sustained attention and short-term memory, respectively, in a simulated classroom situation. In Experiment 1, 46 children aged 8–12 were first mentally fatigued by performing an oral arithmetic task and then were asked to conduct a sustained attention to response test (SART), in order to assess their attention fatigue. After that, a period of 3-min soundscape was presented, and SART was conducted again to examine their attention recovery. In Experiment 2, 45 children participated and the experiment procedure was the same as in Experiment 1, except that a digit span test (DST) was used instead to measure short-term memory. The results showed that music, birdsong, fountain sound, and stream sound facilitated greater recovery than other sounds in reaction time. Participants also showed better performance in short-term memory after exposure to fountain sound and stream sound, followed by music and birdsong. Those results confirmed the actual restorative effects of perceived restorative soundscapes on children’s cognitive performance.

Indoor and outdoor noise is renowned for its ability to negatively affect children’s health and performance. However, the possible restorative benefits of everyday soundscapes in children are still poorly understood. This study aimed to explore the role of everyday soundscapes in children’s restorative experiences in frequented indoor (classroom) and outdoor (urban park) environments. In stage one, 335 children (7–12 years old) were interviewed using a questionnaire survey to investigate their restoration needs, restorative experience, and potential restorative sounds. In stage two, 61 children participated in a laboratory study to assess the perceived restorativeness of different soundscapes, which were combinations of potential restorative sounds and background noise, under signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) from −5 to 15 dB. The findings denoted that the children’s need for restoration increased with age significantly. Younger children reported that the role of the sound environment was more important in their classroom experiences than in urban parks. Although the types of music displayed in surveyed parks were generally not preferred by the children, music was assessed as the most restorative sound in the laboratory study. Additionally, natural sounds were perceived to be more restorative than background noise in the context. In particular, birdsong showed more restorativeness in the classroom context, whereas fountain sounds showed more restorativeness in the park context. Additionally, an SNR of at least 5 dB is desirable when considering the restorative experiences of children in classrooms and urban parks.