In modern open-plan offices, noise from conversations and background activities can significantly impact employees’ productivity and well-being. Active noise-cancelling (ANC) headphones are often employed as a personal solution to reduce distractions and control the acoustic environment. But how effective are these devices in enhancing performance, reducing stress, or improving the overall work experience? This article […]
stress
Irrelevant speech makes perceived workload higher
Irrelevant speech, or background conversations, has been shown to impair cognitive performance and cause physiological stress. Recently published research demonstrated that working during task-irrelevant speech not only increases stress, as measured by heart rate variability, and reduces accuracy but also increases annoyance and perceived workload. Method Thirty participants performed two cognitive tasks (n-back and serial […]
Office noise increases stress hormone levels in blood plasma
Why this study? Valtteri Hongisto stated that there are no previous studies which have investigated the effects of office noise on the stress hormone levels (concentrations in the body) using the most precise and real-time method: i.e. blood sampling. Also a questionnaire was used to evaluate the effect. 100 person participated in the study and […]
Irrelevant speech is a risk for your health
In offices, noise control should be a priority as unwanted sound causes stress. Continuously elevated stress levels are a health risk. Turku University of Applied Sciences and University of Turku have conducted the first Finnish medical study on the physiological, psychological, and performance effects of irrelevant speech. Office noise consists primarily of this kind of […]
Hospital corridors – how do they sound?
Standards in Europe Standards and guidelines for room acoustics in healthcare are lacking in general and very few countries have mandatory regulations in this field. And even in countries with guidelines for other public buildings (e.g. schools) healthcare standards – and particularly detailed standards including corridors don’t exist. Just to mention a few – Czech […]
Heart rate is a medically recognised stressor – Noise reduction gives teachers a significant long-term benefit
This is not new, however it is a fundamental aspect to consider when designing optimal sustainable indoor environments. By measuring/recording the heart rate of teachers, an indicator of stress was apparent in lessons and also over a longer more sustained period. Here is a short insight overview on stress as stated by ASA (American Heart […]
Acoustic improvements lower teacher heart rate, voice levels and improve the general experience
Better acoustics in the classroom reduce the teacher’s heart rate, according to research by students at a leading technological institute in the Czech Republic. Negative stress leads to bad decisions and poorer performance. When we are under stress, our heart rate increases, which is a good measure of how stressed we are. Jana Dolejší, a […]
Teachers overrepresented in the waiting rooms of voice clinics
Viveka Lyberg Åhlander a PhD in Medical Sciences/ Logopedics at EIAS2015 Vocal stress is an increasing issue in schools Viveka Lyberg Åhlander of Lund University is an expert in speech-language pathology and has worked a lot with people with voice problems. During her work, she noticed that quite a few of the people she helped were teachers. […]
Study: less cognitive stress in open-plan offices with good acoustics
Saint- Gobain Ecophon and the Stress Research Institute in Stockholm conducted a unique study in a real-life office environment to examine how sound affects people in open plan offices. The aim was to see how the ceiling’s properties affect workers’ health, productivity and the perceived disturbance. And the result was clear – a better sound […]
Impact of noise in Healthcare premises
Healthcare premises: reflections on sound by hospital staff Children crying. Alarms beeping. Verbal communication. Footsteps. Healthcare premises are often complex sound environments and the cognitive load on staff is getting more and more challenging. Despite this, nurses and doctors rarely complain if the acoustics are not suitable for the activities – because their number one […]
