TY - JOUR
T1 - Psychological and physiological effects of a wooden office room on human well-being
T2 - Results from a randomized controlled trial
AU - Ojala, Ann
AU - Kostensalo, Joel
AU - Viik, Jari
AU - Matilainen, Hanna
AU - Wik, Ida
AU - Virtanen, Linda
AU - Muilu-Mäkelä, Riina
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by the Finnish Ministry of Environment (Project no. VN/2884/2019) and the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) (Grant no. 41007-00096900 , and 41007-00177600 ).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors
PY - 2023/8
Y1 - 2023/8
N2 - Natural materials and elements are considered to support human well-being. Wooden interior well-being effects were studied using a randomized controlled trial with a cross-over design (n = 61) in two rooms: a room with wooden elements and a control room without wood. The participants first performed cognitive tasks by the computer to imitate typical office work and increase their stress level and then had a rest period in an armchair in the same room. The restoration felt, energy level, mood, anxiety, sustained attention, heart rate variability, and skin conductivity were measured in both rooms. The results were analyzed using a Bayesian approach. The anxiety felt was clearly lower at the end of the experiment in the wooden room than in the control, while the other psychological measures showed only a slight indication that the wooden room was more beneficial for relaxation. Performances in sustained attention to the response task were similar in both rooms. Contrary to expectations, the sympathetic nervous system was more active in the wooden room, during and after rest and at the beginning of experiment. Overall, the results support slight positive effects of wooden material on mood on humans in the office environment.
AB - Natural materials and elements are considered to support human well-being. Wooden interior well-being effects were studied using a randomized controlled trial with a cross-over design (n = 61) in two rooms: a room with wooden elements and a control room without wood. The participants first performed cognitive tasks by the computer to imitate typical office work and increase their stress level and then had a rest period in an armchair in the same room. The restoration felt, energy level, mood, anxiety, sustained attention, heart rate variability, and skin conductivity were measured in both rooms. The results were analyzed using a Bayesian approach. The anxiety felt was clearly lower at the end of the experiment in the wooden room than in the control, while the other psychological measures showed only a slight indication that the wooden room was more beneficial for relaxation. Performances in sustained attention to the response task were similar in both rooms. Contrary to expectations, the sympathetic nervous system was more active in the wooden room, during and after rest and at the beginning of experiment. Overall, the results support slight positive effects of wooden material on mood on humans in the office environment.
KW - Cognitive performance
KW - Heart rate
KW - Office
KW - Restoration
KW - Well-being
KW - Wood
U2 - 10.1016/j.jenvp.2023.102059
DO - 10.1016/j.jenvp.2023.102059
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85163377751
SN - 0272-4944
VL - 89
JO - JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
JF - JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
M1 - 102059
ER -