Restorative Effects of Classroom Soundscapes on Children’s Cognitive Performance

Shu, Shan; Ma, Hui

doi:10.3390/ijerph16020293

Cited by 38 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 50 publications

(60 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Higher NO2 exposure was related to an increased likelihood to report high noise annoyance, but the impact depended on traffic noise level, thus suggesting an interaction effect. In detail, the effect of NO2 resulted stronger in people exposed to low levels of noise (DNL ≤ 45 dBA) than in people exposed to medium noise levels (55)(56)(57)(58)(59)(60)(61)(62)(63)(64)(65). As a result, the authors suggest that a multiplier reduction in noise annoyance can be achieved through a simultaneous reduction of NO2 levels and noise levels [35].…”

Section: Factors Influencing the Acoustic Perception Of Indoor Residementioning

confidence: 99%

“…This suggests that reducing noise annoyance would allow for higher noise levels both outdoor and consequently indoor, without harmful effects on other health outcomes. Furthermore, the creation of acoustic environments positively perceived by people has the potential not only to reduce health risks but also to induce positive-related health effects [10,59,60].…”

Section: Factors Influencing the Acoustic Perception In Indoor Residementioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Assessment Methods and Factors Determining Positive Indoor Soundscapes in Residential Buildings: A Systematic Review

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The design of an indoor acoustic environment positively perceived by building occupants requires a perceptual approach to be adopted in order to define what makes it sound good. Soundscape standards ISO 12913 have been introduced to assess how the acoustic environment is perceived, in context, by people. According to the standards, a straightforward characterization of a soundscape as positive is currently possible only through measurements by persons, because of a current gap in linking perceptual metrics to acoustic or psychoacoustic measurements. In addition, despite applying also to indoor contexts, methods and perceptual metrics described by the standards have been mainly derived from studies related to outdoor urban environments and it is not clear whether they could be directly applied indoor. For this reason, a systematic review was performed to investigate: (i) Data collection methods used in the literature for indoor residential soundscapes and (ii) factors, output of such methods, that characterize them positively. For this purpose, a systematic review has been conducted in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines (preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses) guidelines. The Scopus database was searched for peer-reviewed journal papers published in English, between 1 January 2009 and 24 June 2019, including: (1) field or laboratory studies relevant to residential buildings and (2) studies assessing factors that influence the perception by building users of indoor acoustic environments. The search excluded studies related to: (a) Speech perception issues; (b) noise-induced sleep disturbance; (c) acoustic perception by hearing impaired building users; (d) perception of vibrations or impact sounds. The search returned 1087 results. After the screening process, 37 articles were finally included. Given the differences in methodologic approaches, a quantitative meta-analysis could not be performed, and a qualitative approach was adopted instead. A large part of the selected literature reflected a general effort of minimizing noise annoyance by reducing noise exposure and, in particular, noise levels. Questionnaires and guided interviews were used to capture people’s perception, while the adoption of soundwalks and non-participatory behavioral studies did not emerge in the review literature and need further investigation. The evaluation of a variety of auditory sensations both in their positive and negative dimensions, beyond annoyance, would be required to explore the positive perceptual potential of sounds. Besides sound level, a variety of factors related and unrelated to the acoustic environment were found to affect perceptual outcomes and a framework of evaluation has been proposed as a reference for future assessments. Results encourage the integration of soundscape methodologies into IEQ research, in order to enhance user health and well-being.

show abstract

Section: Factors Influencing the Acoustic Perception Of Indoor Residementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Factors Influencing the Acoustic Perception In Indoor Residementioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment Methods and Factors Determining Positive Indoor Soundscapes in Residential Buildings: A Systematic Review

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…By going beyond noise annoyance reduction and sound level minimization, a broader picture could be captured on perceptual and health outcomes resulting from the experience of the acoustic environment. Accordingly, the literature has reported that, in addition to health risks reduction, even positive-related health effects may result from acoustic environments being positively perceived by people [47,64,120]. Understanding the potential of a positive acoustic experience to enhance building users´health and well-being requires a perceptual, soundscape perspective to be adopted in order to comprehend what makes an acoustic environment sound "positive".…”

Section: Rethinking Nv For Positive Acoustic Alliesthesia Under the Imentioning

confidence: 99%

Acoustic Design Criteria in Naturally Ventilated Residential Buildings: New Research Perspectives by Applying the Indoor Soundscape Approach

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The indoor-outdoor connection provided by ventilation openings has been so far a limiting factor in the use of natural ventilation (NV), due to the apparent conflict between ventilation needs and the intrusion of external noise. This limiting factor impedes naturally ventilated buildings meeting the acoustic criteria set by standards and rating protocols, which are reviewed in this paper for residential buildings. The criteria reflect a general effort to minimize noise annoyance by reducing indoor sound levels, typically without a distinction based on a ventilation strategy. Research has developed a number of solutions, discussed here, that try to guarantee ventilation without compromising façade noise insulation, but, currently, none have been adopted on a large scale. This concept paper highlights the main limits of the current approach. First, a fragmented view towards indoor environmental quality has not included consideration of the following acoustic criteria: (i) how buildings are designed and operated to meet multiple needs other than acoustical ones (e.g., ventilation, visual, and cooling needs) and (ii) how people respond to multiple simultaneous environmental factors. Secondly, the lack of a perceptual perspective has led acoustic criteria to neglect the multiple cognitive and behavioral factors impinging on comfort in naturally ventilated houses. Indeed, factors such as the connection with the outside and the sense of control over one’s environment may induce “adaptive acoustic comfort” opportunities that are worth investigating. The mere use of different sound level limits would not be enough to define criteria tailored to the complex user–building interaction that occurs under NV conditions. More holistic and human-centered approaches are required to guarantee not only neutrally but even positively perceived indoor acoustic environments. For this reason, this paper considers this apparent conflict from a soundscape viewpoint, in order to expose still unexplored lines of research. By underpinning a perceptual perspective and by contextualizing it, the indoor soundscape approach provides a framework capable of overcoming the limits of the traditional noise control approach. This could provide the opportunity to foster a wider adoption of NV as a passive design strategy that enhances user health and well-being, while enabling low-cost, and low-energy cooling and ventilation, thereby contributing to current climate change challenges.

show abstract

“…Di Blasio and colleagues [20] focus on the overall comfort and performance of open-plan office workers when affected by undue noise coming from irrelevant speech. Similarly, looking at cognitive performance, Shu and Ma [21] carry out a study to explore the restorative effects of different soundscapes on children's sustained attention and short-term memory.…”

Section: Supportive Indoor Soundscapes-a Perceptual Perspective On Bumentioning

confidence: 99%

Promoting Healthy and Supportive Acoustic Environments: Going beyond the Quietness

Aletta

Kang

2019

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

When confronted with the topic of the quality of the acoustic environments, society and communities around the world tend to consider "sound" mainly in its negative facet of "noise". This approach is reflected in a number of recommendations and prescriptions to reduce people's exposure to excessive sound levels from transportation and industry, promoted by international institutions and authorities, such as the World Health Organization or the European Union [1,2]. Notwithstanding, such a strategy is not always effective in delivering the desired enhancements in terms of health and quality of life, and this is because "quietness" and the pursuit of "silence" are not necessarily enough to define an acoustic environment of high quality [3]. Indeed, environmental sounds often have positive effects on people, as they provide information, communicate safety, enable certain desirable activities, and, more generally, contribute to people's appeasement and psychophysical well-being [4,5]. With the rapid increase of urbanization, more research is needed towards alternative approaches for the characterization, management, and design of urban acoustic environments that support (and not only allow) restoration, health, and better quality of life, as well as basic research on the mechanisms underpinning the perception of environmental sounds in context and how their experience might affect health-related outcomes.Researchers in the environmental acoustics and soundscape domains are addressing these challenges by exploring new inter-and trans-disciplinary approaches to the characterization of the quality of the acoustic environments, new prediction and modeling methodologies for the acoustic environments and their qualities, and the relationships between sound, space, and behaviors in the built environment. From the 16 contributions published in this Special Issue, three main research themes were identified, which are briefly discussed below.

show abstract

Restorative Effects of Classroom Soundscapes on Children’s Cognitive Performance

Cited by 38 publications

References 50 publications

Assessment Methods and Factors Determining Positive Indoor Soundscapes in Residential Buildings: A Systematic Review

Assessment Methods and Factors Determining Positive Indoor Soundscapes in Residential Buildings: A Systematic Review

Acoustic Design Criteria in Naturally Ventilated Residential Buildings: New Research Perspectives by Applying the Indoor Soundscape Approach

Promoting Healthy and Supportive Acoustic Environments: Going beyond the Quietness

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About