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Evidence strength · 22 records
Moderate-high
Several human studies point in the same direction but methods or settings vary
how to use it:Use as a serious design signal while retaining context and boundary conditions
ND-0004 · 2012 · Controlled exposure study
Is CO2 an Indoor Pollutant? Direct Effects of Low-to-Moderate CO2 Concentrations on Human Decision-Making Performance
Satish et al. Environmental Health Perspectives
Decision-making scores declined at higher CO2 exposures in several domains, with larger effects at 2500 ppm.
ND-0005 · 2016 · Controlled crossover study
Associations of Cognitive Function Scores with Carbon Dioxide, Ventilation, and Volatile Organic Compound Exposures in Office Workers
Allen et al. Environmental Health Perspectives
Cognitive scores were higher under lower-VOC and higher-ventilation conditions than under conventional office conditions.
ND-0017 · 2026 · Experimental study
Multimodal evidence of temperature and sex effects on sleep: sleep physiology, sleep quality, and next-day performance
Authors per journal record. Building and Environment
Warmer nights reduced sleep continuity and efficiency; autonomic and next-day outcomes differed across temperatures and by sex.
ND-0018 · 2025 · Narrative review
Dreamy Dwellings: How the Sleep Environment Affects Sleep Health in Adults
Gregory D. M. Potter. Lifestyle Medicine
Reviews multiple environmental inputs that can alter sleep, including sensory, thermal and social factors.
ND-0019 · 2011 · Experimental study
Open-plan office noise: Cognitive performance and restoration
Jahncke et al. Journal of Environmental Psychology
Higher office noise impaired word memory and increased tiredness; restorative content after exposure helped recover perceived energy.
ND-0030 · 2015 · Experimental neuroimaging study
Nature experience reduces rumination and subgenual prefrontal cortex activation
Bratman et al. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
A nature walk reduced self-reported rumination and subgenual prefrontal activation relative to an urban walk.
ND-0032 · 1991 · Experimental study
Stress recovery during exposure to natural and urban environments
Ulrich et al. Journal of Environmental Psychology
Natural scenes were associated with faster or more complete recovery on several affective and physiological measures after stress induction.
ND-0046 · 2023 · Systematic review
Designing for human wellbeing: The integration of neuroarchitecture in design - A systematic review
Authors per journal record. Ain Shams Engineering Journal
Summarizes applications of neuroarchitecture to wellbeing and design practice while highlighting methodological fragmentation.
ND-0055 · 2013 · fMRI experiment
Impact of contour on aesthetic judgments and approach-avoidance decisions in architecture
Vartanian et al. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Curvilinear interiors were more often rated beautiful and recruited anterior cingulate activity during beauty judgments; contour did not significantly alter approach-avoidance decisions.
ND-0056 · 2006 · Behavioral experiment
Humans Prefer Curved Visual Objects
Moshe Bar & Maital Neta. Psychological Science
Participants showed a preference for curved over sharp-contoured objects, consistent with a negative bias toward sharp transitions.
ND-0057 · 2007 · Behavioral experiment
The Influence of Ceiling Height: The Effect of Priming on the Type of Processing That People Use
Joan Meyers-Levy & Rui Zhu. Journal of Consumer Research
Higher ceilings were associated with freedom-related concepts and more relational or abstract processing; lower ceilings with more confined concepts and item-specific processing.
ND-0061 · 2021 · Behavioral study
Individual differences in preference for architectural interiors
Authors per journal record. Journal of Environmental Psychology
Coherence predicted preference across groups, while the contribution of fascination and hominess differed by population.
ND-0063 · 2020 · Human VR experiment
Deforming the metric of cognitive maps distorts memory
Authors per journal record. Nature Human Behaviour
Spatial memory and distance judgments were systematically distorted in deformed geometry, consistent with geometry-dependent cognitive maps.
ND-0071 · 2018 · Experimental study
Anchoring visual search in scenes: Assessing the role of anchor objects on eye movements during visual search
Boettcher et al. Journal of Vision
Search was guided by anchor objects that predicted where target objects should be located.
ND-0074 · 2013 · Field survey analysis
Workspace satisfaction: The privacy-communication trade-off in open-plan offices
Kim & de Dear. Journal of Environmental Psychology
Noise and loss of privacy were major sources of dissatisfaction, and perceived communication benefits did not offset them in more open layouts.
ND-0089 · 2021 · Review
The Potential of Biophilic Fractal Designs to Promote Health and Performance: A Review of Experiments and Applications
Richard P. Taylor. Sustainability
Reviews evidence that mid-complexity fractals can be processed fluently and may support stress reduction and visual performance.
ND-0090 · 2024 · Book chapter / review
Fractal Fluency: Processing of Fractal Stimuli Across Sight, Sound, and Touch
Taylor et al. Advances in Neurobiology
Extends fractal-fluency ideas across vision, sound and touch and links mid-range complexity to processing ease and stress outcomes.
ND-0094 · 2026 · Randomized crossover human study
The glymphatic system clears amyloid beta and tau from brain to plasma in humans
Dagum et al. Nature Communications
Normal sleep was associated with morning plasma biomarker patterns consistent with greater glymphatic clearance of amyloid beta and tau than sleep deprivation.
ND-0115 · 2019 · Experimental study
The role of meaning in attentional guidance during free viewing of real-world scenes
Peacock, Hayes & Henderson. Acta Psychologica
Meaning predicted attention allocation during free viewing, reinforcing semantic guidance beyond low-level salience.
ND-0116 · 2018 · Experimental study
Meaning Guides Attention during Real-World Scene Description
Authors per journal record. Scientific Reports
Meaning remained a strong predictor of gaze when participants actively described scenes.
ND-0118 · 2019 · Population study
Spending at least 120 minutes a week in nature is associated with good health and wellbeing
White et al. Scientific Reports
Participants reporting at least roughly two hours of nature contact per week were more likely to report good health and wellbeing, with benefits associated with accumulated exposure.
ND-0119 · 2002 · Technical report
Open-plan office density and environmental satisfaction
Duval, Charles & Veitch. National Research Council Canada
Reviews evidence that open-plan density can affect environmental satisfaction and related perceptions.