It’s stuffy inside season, and even people who work near windows that open have had to keep those windows closed for a while now. For the rest of us, often where we work is, shall we say, not so fresh. Sure, some HVAC systems do a better job than others. But in many spaces, they need a little assistance.
Stale air impacts all of us, and not just for humanitarian reasons. It can lead to negative assessments of even delightfully pleasant and productive spaces.
Green leafy plants are a workplace addition that can freshen a lot of air. And there’s a bonus to having plants in a place. Seeing plant species like ficuses, which have stems and curvy leaves, is also a performance boost. Seeing indoor plants has been linked to better moods, and those emotions have desirable repercussions for problem solving, how well we get along with others, and the behavior of our immune system. Views of green leafy plants in workplaces have also been directly linked to more creative thinking and enhanced cognitive performance.
Creating an indoor jungle, however, is not a good idea. Plants a foot or so tall in a cubicle do the trick, and so does having four slightly taller plants in a worker’s view in an open area. But, too many plants creates a visually complex jungle that makes us tense, and we all know that’s not good for our wellbeing, physical or mental.
Scents added to an indoor environment, if used discretely, can also freshen the air. Any scent needs to be tested before it’s used, to make sure it is desirable and not metallic or artificial smelling – or just plain gross. Well-executed artificial scents can be added to a space through more sophisticated HVAC systems; these odors don’t contain the potential allergens in natural scents. Any smells used should be subtle, only just noticeable by the people who have decided to use them and the effects noted here through the entire time people are in a space.
Scientists have identified specific reactions to particular odors. The smell of lemon has been linked to better moods and enhanced knowledge work-type cognitive performance. Our memory works better when we smell rosemary, as it also does when we smell peppermint, and peppermint scents have also been linked to improved performance of more routine, clerical-type tasks. Orange smells are a great anxiety reducer (they even calm patients waiting in dentists’ offices) so they are good options for human resources waiting areas frequented by interviewees. The odor of lavender is relaxing, so it’s a great option for break areas.
Stuffy air doesn’t have to prevail. You can help prevent it when designing new spaces by planning in plants and systems that dispense desired scents. After an area is occupied, you can conquer staleness with added plants and subtle smell-scaping.
Sally Augustin, PhD, a cognitive scientist, is the editor of Research Design Connections (www.researchdesignconnections.com), a monthly subscription newsletter and free daily blog, where recent and classic research in the social, design, and physical sciences that can inform designers’ work are presented in straightforward language. Readers learn about the latest research findings immediately, before they’re available elsewhere. Sally, who is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, is also the author of Place Advantage: Applied Psychology for Interior Architecture (Wiley, 2009) and, with Cindy Coleman, The Designer’s Guide to Doing Research: Applying Knowledge to Inform Design (Wiley, 2012). She is a principal at Design With Science (www.designwithscience.com) and can be reached at sallyaugustin@designwithscience.com.