Sensory Gardens: How they help reduce stress, restore attention and improve accomplishment
-
Upload
sepideh-arkani -
Category
Healthcare
-
view
266 -
download
0
Transcript of Sensory Gardens: How they help reduce stress, restore attention and improve accomplishment
Evidence of nature benefits parallels rise in sensory gardens
Source: http://www.gardensofreflection.com/sensorygardens.php Source: Sepideh Arkani’s photograph
What is a sensory garden?
Source: news.psu.edu; www.starkey.com; parade.com; www.pinterest.com; www.oprah.com
+ heat, pain, balance, body awareness, … up to 21 senses Source: sensorytrust.org.uk, 2016
Or up to 53 senses: Radiation – colour, mood, temperature
Feeling – air/wind pressure and motion
Chemical – hormonal sense, e.g. hunger for food, water, air
Mental – self, friendship, companionship Source: sensorytrust.org.uk, 2016
Sensory: ‘relating to sensation, transmitted or perceived by the senses’ – Source: Oxforddictionary.com, 2016
Source: ashtononribble.com, 2016
Sensory gardens and experiences
Paley Park pocket garden, New York City (source: www.flickr.com)
Children’s sensory garden at Tatton Park, 2014 (source: homedecorlover.xyz)
Why do we need sensory gardens?
Spending time in + having a view of a garden positively influences employees’ stress level (Stigsdotter and Grahn, 2004)
Higher levels of green space are associated with lower perceived + physiological stress (Roe et al., 2013)
We have an instinctive affinity with natural systems, which makes contact with nature beneficial to our health + wellbeing (Erickson, 2012).
Physiological + Psychological Stress (Ulrich, 1991) Mental fatigue (Kaplan, 1995)
Recovery from Stress + mental fatigue by PNS + engaging indirect attention
source: www.healinglandscapes.org
Source: http://insertmedia.office.microsoft.com
Stress Reduction Theory (SRT) Viewing unthreatening natural stimuli reduces the stress response + accelerates psychological and physiological recovery
Recovery results from boosting positive, and reducing negative, emotions (Ulrich, 1979, 1984)
Is strongly influenced by the parasympathetic nervous system (Ulrich, 1991)
Green space and nature are beneficial for mental health (Beyer et al., 2014)
Type of natural setting is not important (Van den Berg et al., 2012)
Attention Restoration Theory (ART)
Interaction with nature heals mental fatigue and recovers capacity to focus attention
A walk in nature reduced anxiety, rumination, negative affect, maintained positive affect, increased verbal working memory (Bratman et al., 2012)
Walking in urban green space reduced stress, arousal, frustration, and directed attention. Walking in busy commercial district increased engagement, alertness, and directed attention (Aspinal et al., 2013)
A 90 min nature walk decreased neural activity in the subgenual prefrontal cortex, compared to a 90 min urban walk (Bratman et al., 2015)
Does the type of nature matter?
Mapledown school (source: http://www.mapledownschool.co.uk)
Norwood mental health residential care village (source: http://www.greenstonedesign.co.uk)
Impact of biological sound
Connection to nature
(Ratcliffe et al., 2013)
Effortless focus of attention on new stimuli
Positive emotion and
reduced arousal
No sound (Shaw et al.,
2015)
Source: All-free-download.com
Impact of scent
Psychophysiological
responses to Japanese
plum blossom
Responses to lavender and rosemary essential oils
Source: http://insertmedia.office.microsoft.com