Sifting through data from 15,400 undergraduate students between 2011-2019 across three Australian university campuses, researchers attempted to understand how the height of
But why do lofty ceilings matter?
Study researcher Isabella Bower suggests it might be the sheer scale of the room or other sneaky factors like student density or shoddy insulation, leading to brain-melting temperature swings and air quality issues."These spaces are often designed for purposes other than examinations, such as gymnasiums, exhibitions, events and performances," explains Bower. "The key point is that
To understand the issue, the researchers strapped VR headsets onto the participants and used electroencephalography (EEG) to monitor their brain waves. The participants were exposed to rooms of varying sizes while controlling for pesky variables like temperature, lighting, and noise. They also tracked heart rate, breathing, and sweat levels to see if participants could subconsciously sense changes in their environment.
Dropping brain activity
The results? Simply sitting in a larger room sparked brain activity linked to struggling with difficult tasks. This led to a lightbulb moment: maybe trying to concentrate in a massive gymnasium really does tank performance.In Australia, as well as
As we continue to mould the buildings where we live, work, and cram for finals, it’s time to consider how even
The findings of this research have been published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology and can be accessed here.