NEO: Effects of Natural Sounds on Attention Restoration Outdoors

Sponsor

Nanyang Technological University (Other)

Overall Status

Recruiting

CT.gov ID

NCT05679882

Collaborator

National Research Foundation, Singapore (Other), Ministry of National Development, Singapore (Other), Housing and Development Board, Singapore (Other)

Enrollment

Location

Arms

6.7

Anticipated Duration (Months)

Patients Per Site Per Month

Study Details

Study Description

Brief Summary

This study aims to examine whether listening to natural sounds in a noisy outdoor environment compared to no natural sounds influences behavioural, cognitive, affective, and physiological markers.

Condition or Disease	Intervention/Treatment	Phase
Cognitive Fatigue Mental Fatigue Behavioral Performance Heart Rate Variability Positive and Negative Affect Inhibition, Psychological Working Memory Perceived Restoration	Other: Masking Sounds Other: No Masking Sounds	N/A

Detailed Description

The investigators hypothesize that listening to natural sounds has restorative effects on attention by supporting greater use of involuntary attention. This generates the prediction that exposure to natural sounds in the context of a noisy outdoor environment will have greater restorative effects on attention (i.e., physiological, affective, cognitive, and behavioural) as compared to the control group (exposed to environmental noise only). Individual differences (i.e., age, gender, caffeine and food intake, body mass index, skin temperature, noise sensitivity, sleep quality, baseline physiology and behavioural performance) will be examined and accounted for. Environmental factors (i.e., outdoor humidity, temperature, and noise) will also be accounted for.

Study Design

Study Type:

Interventional

Anticipated Enrollment :

60 participants

Allocation:

Randomized

Intervention Model:

Parallel Assignment

Masking:

Single (Participant)

Primary Purpose:

Treatment

Official Title:

Effects of Natural Sounds on Attention Restoration Outdoors

Actual Study Start Date :

Oct 24, 2022

Anticipated Primary Completion Date :

Mar 15, 2023

Anticipated Study Completion Date :

May 15, 2023

Arms and Interventions

Arm	Intervention/Treatment
Active Comparator: Outdoor Environment Exposure to outdoor environmental noise	Other: No Masking Sounds No masking sounds will be played from outdoor speakers.
Experimental: Outdoor Environment with Machine-Learning Selected Masking Sounds Exposure to outdoor environmental noise and masking sounds	Other: Masking Sounds Masking sounds will be played from outdoor speakers.

Arm

Intervention/Treatment

Active Comparator: Outdoor Environment

Exposure to outdoor environmental noise

Other: No Masking Sounds

No masking sounds will be played from outdoor speakers.

Experimental: Outdoor Environment with Machine-Learning Selected Masking Sounds

Exposure to outdoor environmental noise and masking sounds

Other: Masking Sounds

Masking sounds will be played from outdoor speakers.

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

Reverse Corsi Task (Change) [baseline and up to 60 mins after sound intervention]
Change in Span and Reaction Time
Go/NoGo Task (Change) [baseline and up to 60 mins after sound intervention]
Change in Accuracy and Reaction Time
Change in Heart Rate Variability [1 day (during fatiguing task and sound intervention)]
Electrocardiograph and photoplethysmograph (Change)
Positive and Negative Affect Schedule - Expanded Form [up to 60 mins after sound intervention]
Positive and Negative Affect Score
Change in Fatigue State Questionnaire Score [baseline and up to 60 mins after sound intervention]

Secondary Outcome Measures

Perceived Restorativeness Soundscape Scale [up to 60 mins after sound intervention]
Perceived Restorativeness Soundscape Scale Score

Eligibility Criteria

Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study:

18 Years to 35 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study:

All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers:

Yes

Inclusion Criteria:

Singapore-based
Non-clinical
18-35years

Exclusion Criteria:

Individuals with hearing difficulties or failing to meet the minimal threshold for normal hearing
Individuals with a history of ear, developmental, neurological, or psychiatric disorder

Contacts and Locations

Locations

	Site	City	State	Country	Postal Code
1	Cultural Science Innovations, Nanyang Technological University	Singapore		Singapore	639798

Sponsors and Collaborators

Nanyang Technological University
National Research Foundation, Singapore
Ministry of National Development, Singapore
Housing and Development Board, Singapore

Investigators

None specified.

Study Documents (Full-Text)

None provided.

More Information

Publications

None provided.

Responsible Party:

Georgios CHRISTOPOULOS, Associate Professor, Nanyang Technological University

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:

NCT05679882

Other Study ID Numbers:

COT-V4-2020-1-S004

First Posted:

Jan 11, 2023

Last Update Posted:

Jan 11, 2023

Last Verified:

Jan 1, 2023

Individual Participant Data (IPD) Sharing Statement:

Plan to Share IPD:

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Drug Product:

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Device Product:

Additional relevant MeSH terms:

Fatigue

Mental Fatigue

Study Results

No Results Posted as of Jan 11, 2023