Effects of biofeedback-informed soundscapes on well-being and cognition

Acoustic environments of office spaces influence workers’ well-being and performance. This influence was investigated with ISO12913 guidelines for soundscape studies. Using a within-subject design, 29 participants, 18 to 54 years old (Mean = 33.62, SD = 10.86); 6 women and 23 men performed a Reading Span Task (RST) under three sound conditions: silence (E1), office environment (E2), and office environment mixed with oscillating sounds of nature (E3). The oscillatory frequency was set to each participant´s optimal breathing rate, i.e., Resonant Frequency Breathing Rate (RFBR). Perception of the sound conditions, RST scores, biological signals related to arousal, i.e., heart rate variability, skin conductance and temperature, personality traits and executive functions’ deficits were assessed. Related sample t-test showed that E3 was perceived as more pleasant and calm than E2, and more vibrant and eventful than E1. Further, spearman’s correlations showed a positive relation between the identification of sounds of nature, perception of E3 as calm, heart rate variability, working memory capacity and lower processing error in RST. Similarly, there is a positive correlation between the perception of E3 as vibrant and skin conductance levels. These findings suggest that oscillating sounds of nature facilitate optimal breathing, noise masking and attention, supporting the design of healthier and smarter working conditions.