EARS: Effects of Natural Sounds on Attention Restoration in Noisy Environment

• Sponsor: Nanyang Technological University (Other)
• Overall Status: Recruiting
• CT.gov ID: NCT05009784
• Collaborator: National Research Foundation, Singapore (Other), Ministry of National Development, Singapore (Other), Housing and Development Board, Singapore (Other)
• Enrollment: 162
• Location: 1
• Arms: 9
• Anticipated Duration (Months): 3.7
• Patients Per Site Per Month: 44

Study Details

Study Description

Brief Summary

This study aims to examine whether 1) listening to natural sounds in a noisy (traffic) environment compared to traffic noise only, 2) listening to different natural sounds (e.g., birds, water), and 3) different durations of exposure of natural sounds and/ or traffic noise impact behavioral, cognitive, affective, and physiological markers associated with attention restoration. Attention restoration will be examined as an aspect of cognitive fatigue and stress recovery.

Condition or Disease	Intervention/Treatment	Phase
Cognitive Fatigue; Mental Fatigue; Heart Rate Variability; Skin Conductance; Behavioral Performance; Positive and Negative Affect; Inhibition; Working Memory; Perceived Restoration	Other: Baseline; Other: Fatigue Manipulation; Other: Short Traffic Sound; Other: Medium Traffic Sound; Other: Long Traffic Sound; Other: Short Traffic and Bird Sound; Other: Medium Traffic and Bird Sound; Other: Long Traffic and Bird Sound; Other: Short Traffic and Water Sound; Other: Medium Traffic and Water Sound; Other: Long Traffic and Water Sound	N/A

Detailed Description

1. Based on the Attention Restoration Theory (Kaplan, 1995), we 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 environment will have greater restorative effects on attention (i.e., physiological, affect, cognition, and behavior) as compared to the control group (exposed to noise only). 2) We hypothesize that water and bird sounds would have differential restorative effects on attention. 3) Alvarsson et al. (2010) have previously demonstrated that skin conductance levels decreased exponentially and reached half-life after approximately 100 seconds of exposure to natural sounds. Hence, we hypothesize that the restorative effects of natural sounds on attention would vary as a function of the duration of exposure. 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. A cognitive task will be administered at the beginning of the experiment to induce fatigue to examine the restorative effects of natural sounds.

Study Design

• Study Type: Interventional
• Anticipated Enrollment: 162 participants
• Allocation: Randomized
• Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single (Participant)
• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Official Title: Effects of Natural Sounds on Attention Restoration in Noisy Environment
• Actual Study Start Date: Aug 25, 2021
• Anticipated Primary Completion Date: Oct 15, 2021
• Anticipated Study Completion Date: Dec 15, 2021

Arms and Interventions

Arm	Intervention/Treatment
Active Comparator: Short Traffic Sound 100 seconds of traffic sound	Other: Baseline; 5-min urban park video clip (Presented on a TV); Other: Fatigue Manipulation; 20-min 2-back task (Presented on a computer); Other: Short Traffic Sound; Active Comparator: Short Traffic Sound (Played through speakers)
Active Comparator: Medium Traffic Sound 200 seconds of traffic sound	Other: Baseline; 5-min urban park video clip (Presented on a TV); Other: Fatigue Manipulation; 20-min 2-back task (Presented on a computer); Other: Medium Traffic Sound; Active Comparator: Medium Traffic Sound (Played through speakers)
Active Comparator: Long Traffic Sound 300 seconds of traffic sound	Other: Baseline; 5-min urban park video clip (Presented on a TV); Other: Fatigue Manipulation; 20-min 2-back task (Presented on a computer); Other: Long Traffic Sound; Active Comparator: Long Traffic Sound (Played through speakers)
Experimental: Short Traffic and Bird Sound 100 seconds of traffic and bird sound	Other: Baseline; 5-min urban park video clip (Presented on a TV); Other: Fatigue Manipulation; 20-min 2-back task (Presented on a computer); Other: Short Traffic and Bird Sound; Experimental: Short Traffic and Bird Sound (Played through speakers)
Experimental: Medium Traffic and Bird Sound 200 seconds of traffic and bird sound	Other: Baseline; 5-min urban park video clip (Presented on a TV); Other: Fatigue Manipulation; 20-min 2-back task (Presented on a computer); Other: Medium Traffic and Bird Sound; Experimental: Medium Traffic and Bird Sound (Played through speakers)
Experimental: Long Traffic and Bird Sound 300 seconds of traffic and bird sound	Other: Baseline; 5-min urban park video clip (Presented on a TV); Other: Fatigue Manipulation; 20-min 2-back task (Presented on a computer); Other: Long Traffic and Bird Sound; Experimental: Long Traffic and Bird Sound (Played through speakers)
Experimental: Short Traffic and Water Sound 100 seconds of traffic and water sound	Other: Baseline; 5-min urban park video clip (Presented on a TV); Other: Fatigue Manipulation; 20-min 2-back task (Presented on a computer); Other: Short Traffic and Water Sound; Experimental: Short Traffic and Water Sound (Played through speakers)
Experimental: Medium Traffic and Water Sound 200 seconds of traffic and water sound	Other: Baseline; 5-min urban park video clip (Presented on a TV); Other: Fatigue Manipulation; 20-min 2-back task (Presented on a computer); Other: Medium Traffic and Water Sound; Experimental: Medium Traffic and Water Sound (Played through speakers)
Experimental: Long Traffic and Water Sound 300 seconds of traffic and water sound	Other: Baseline; 5-min urban park video clip (Presented on a TV); Other: Fatigue Manipulation; 20-min 2-back task (Presented on a computer); Other: Long Traffic and Water Sound; Experimental: Long Traffic and Water Sound (Played through speakers)

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

1. Reverse Corsi Task (Change) [up to 1 hour before and after sound intervention]

   Change in Span

2. Reverse Corsi Task (Change) [up to 1 hour before and after sound intervention]

   Change in Reaction Time

3. Go/NoGo Task (Change) [up to 1 hour before and after sound intervention]

   Change in Accuracy

4. Go/NoGo Task (Change) [up to 1 hour before and after sound Intervention]

   Change in Reaction Time

5. Electrocardiograph (Change) [up to 1 hour before and after sound intervention]

   Change in Heart Rate Variability

6. Electrodermal Activity (Change) [up to 1 hour before and after sound intervention]

   Change in Skin Conductance Level

7. Electrodermal Activity (Change) [up to 1 hour before and after sound intervention]

   Change in Skin Conductance Response

8. Positive and Negative Affect Schedule - Expanded Form (Change) [up to 1 hour before and after sound intervention]

   Change in Positive Affect Score

9. Positive and Negative Affect Schedule - Expanded Form (Change) [up to 1 hour before and after sound intervention]

   Change in Negative Affect Score

10. Fatigue State Questionnaire (Change) [up to 1 hour before and after sound intervention]

    Change in Fatigue State Questionnaire Score

Secondary Outcome Measures

1. Perceived Restorativeness Soundscape Scale [up to 1 hour after sound Intervention]

   Perceived Restorativeness Soundscape Scale Score

Eligibility Criteria

Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 21 Years to 30 Years
• Sexes Eligible for Study: All
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Inclusion Criteria:

• Singapore-based

• Non-clinical

• 21-30years

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

• Alvarsson JJ, Wiens S, Nilsson ME. Stress recovery during exposure to nature sound and environmental noise. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2010 Mar;7(3):1036-46. doi: 10.3390/ijerph7031036. Epub 2010 Mar 11.
• Kaplan S. The restorative benefits of nature: Toward an integrative framework. J. Environ. Psychol. 1995; 15(3): 169-182.

• Responsible Party: Georgios CHRISTOPOULOS, Associate Professor, Nanyang Technological University
• ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05009784
• Other Study ID Numbers: COT-V4-2020-1-S001
• First Posted: Aug 18, 2021
• Last Update Posted: Oct 12, 2021
• Last Verified: Oct 1, 2021

• Individual Participant Data (IPD) Sharing Statement: No
• Plan to Share IPD: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Drug Product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Device Product: No
• Additional relevant MeSH terms: Fatigue; Mental Fatigue

Study Results

No Results Posted as of Oct 12, 2021