Room Design and Your Mind
In the 1950s prizewinning biologist and doctor Jonas Salk was working on a cure for polio in a dark basement laboratory in Pittsburgh. To clear his mind Salk traveled to Assisi, Italy, where he spent time in a 13th-century monastery, continuing his research in a more inspiring environment. With new insight and a fresh perspective Salk developed a successful polio vaccine. Salk was convinced he had drawn his inspiration from the contemplative setting. Because he believed so much in the power of his environment he teamed up with renowned architect Louis Kahn to build the Salk Institute in La Jolla, CA, as a scientific facility that would stimulate breakthroughs and encourage creativity.
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Research has recently emerged that could lend credibility to Salk’s suspicion that your physical environment actually can influence creativity. Here are some fascinating stats that may encourage you to spice up your office:
- The height of a room’s ceiling affects how you think. 100 people were randomly assigned to a room with either an 8 or ten-foot ceiling. They were asked to group sports from a 10-item list into categories of their own choice. The people in the room with the 10-foot ceiling came up with more abstract categories, such as “challenging” sports or sports they would like to play, than did those who worked in the 8-foot ceiling. Elevated ceilings make people feel physically less constrained, and result in more free thinking. The actual height of the ceiling if of less importance than how high it feels. Use light colored paint or mirrors in the room to give a more spacious feel.
- Views of natural settings improve focus. One experiment demonstrated that college students with views of nature from their dorm rooms scored higher on measures of mental focus than did those who overlooked entirely man-made structures. Such findings may be the result of a restorative effect on the mind of gazing on natural scenes. By this theory, the tasks of the modern world can engender mental fatigue, whereas looking out at a natural setting is relatively effortless and can give the mind a much needed rest.
- Natural light keeps you alert. Daylight synchronizes our sleep-wake cycle, and allows us to stay alert during the day and to sleep at night. Nevertheless, many institutional buildings are not designed to let in as much natural light as our mind and body need. In 1999 researchers rated the amount of daylight available in each of more than 2,000 classrooms on a scale of 0 to 5. In one school district (Capistrano, CA) students in the sunniest classrooms advanced 26% faster in reading and 20% faster in math in one year than did those with the least daylight in their classrooms. In the other two districts, ample light boosted scores 7-18%.
- Dim light allows for relaxation and openness. A 2006 study of 80 university students shows that students questioned in a dim room felt more relaxed, viewed the counselor more positively and shared more about themselves than those counseled in the brighter room did. The findings suggest that dim light helps people to loosen up. If that is true generally, keeping the light low during dinner or at parties could foster relaxation and intimacy.
What does all of this mean? It’s hard to say with certainty how these principles and research (largely conducted in public buildings: schools, hospitals, and stores) affect a homeowner or small business owner. So take these stats for what they’re worth and keep them in the back of your mind when you have the ability to choose between them. With the advances in neuroscience, everyday researchers are able to learn more and more about how to create the most ideal environments for the mind to thrive.
Portions of this article were taken from an article written on the Scientific American website. This article was written by Emily Anthes on April 22, 2009. The complete article can be found here: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=building-around-the-mind
In the 1950s prizewinning biologist and doctor Jonas Salk was working on a cure for polio in a dark basement laboratory in Pittsburgh. To clear his mind Salk traveled to Assisi, Italy, where he spent time in a 13th-century monastery, continuing his research in a more inspiring environment. With new insight and a fresh perspective Salk developed a successful polio vaccine. Salk was convinced he had drawn his inspiration from the contemplative setting. Because he believed so much in the power of his environment he teamed up with renowned architect Louis Kahn to build the Salk Institute in La Jolla, CA, as a scientific facility that would stimulate breakthroughs and encourage creativity.
Research has recently emerged that could lend credibility to Salk’s suspicion that your physical environment actually can influence creativity. Here are some fascinating stats that may encourage you to spice up your office:
- The height of a room’s ceiling affects how you think. 100 people were randomly assigned to a room with either an 8 or ten-foot ceiling. They were asked to group sports from a 10-item list into categories of their own choice. The people in the room with the 10-foot ceiling came up with more abstract categories, such as “challenging” sports or sports they would like to play, than did those who worked in the 8-foot ceiling. Elevated ceilings make people feel physically less constrained, and result in more free thinking. The actual height of the ceiling is of less importance than how high it feels. Use light colored paint or mirrors in the room to give a more spacious feel.
- Views of natural settings improve focus. One experiment demonstrated that college students with views of nature from their dorm rooms scored higher on measures of mental focus than did those who overlooked entirely man-made structures. Such findings may be the result of a restorative effect on the mind of gazing on natural scenes. By this theory, the tasks of the modern world can engender mental fatigue, whereas looking out at a natural setting is relatively effortless and can give the mind a much needed rest.
- Natural light keeps you alert. Daylight synchronizes our sleep-wake cycle, and allows us to stay alert during the day and to sleep at night. Nevertheless, many institutional buildings are not designed to let in as much natural light as our mind and body need. In 1999 researchers rated the amount of daylight available in each of more than 2,000 classrooms on a scale of 0 to 5. In one school district (Capistrano, CA) students in the sunniest classrooms advanced 26% faster in reading and 20% faster in math in one year than did those with the least daylight in their classrooms. In the other two districts, ample light boosted scores 7-18%.
- Dim light allows for relaxation and openness. A 2006 study of 80 university students shows that students questioned in a dim room felt more relaxed, viewed the counselor more positively and shared more about themselves than those counseled in the brighter room did. The findings suggest that dim light helps people to loosen up. If that is true generally, keeping the light low during dinner or at parties could foster relaxation and intimacy.
What does all of this mean? It’s hard to say with certainty how these principles and research (largely conducted in public buildings: schools, hospitals, and stores) affect a homeowner or small business owner. So take these stats for what they’re worth and keep them in the back of your mind when you have the ability to choose between them. With the advances in neuroscience, everyday researchers are able to learn more and more about how to create the most ideal environments for the mind to thrive.
Portions of this article were taken from an article written on the Scientific American website. This article was written by Emily Anthes on April 22, 2009. The complete article can be found HERE.
