RESEARCH

The Effects of Indoor Plants and Traffic Noise on English Reading Comprehension of Chinese University Students in Home Offices

Participants working with plants at 50 dBA TNL demonstrated a significantly lower Total Amplitude of Saccades (TAS) (p-value <0.050) compared to those without plants at the same noise level, suggesting greater focusing concentration. After reading at 45 dBA TNL, participants taking a break with plants showed significantly higher Mental Fatigue Recovery (MFR) than those breaking without plants (p-value <0.050).
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Summary

This study investigated the combined effects of indoor plants and traffic noise levels (TNLs) on the performance and environmental evaluations of English reading comprehension tasks (ERCTs) and short-term breaks among Chinese university students working in home offices, particularly relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic. The experiment involved 22 participants (12 males, 10 females) and employed a design with two visual conditions (with and without plants) and five acoustic conditions ranging from background noise level (BNL) of 35 dBA (quiet) to traffic noise at 45, 50, 55, and 60 dBA. The home office environment was simulated, using two potted Epipremnum aureum plants in the ‘with plants’ condition. Data was collected on participants’ accuracy rates, eye movements (Average Pupil Diameter – APD, Total Amplitude of Saccades – TAS), mental workload (using a modified NASA-TLX), feelings about the acoustic and non-acoustic environment, and recovery during a 5-minute break (Mental Fatigue Recovery – MFR, Visual Fatigue Recovery – VFR, Anxiety Recovery – AR, and Unfriendly Recovery – UR). The study used mixed analysis of variances (ANOVAs), independent-sample t-tests, repeated measures analysis of variance (RMANOVA), generalized estimating equation (GEE) tests, Mann–Whitney U-tests, and Friedman tests for data analysis.

The results indicated that indoor plants had significant effects on ERCTs and short-term breaks, particularly at medium TNLs (45 and 50 dBA). While there was no significant main effect of plants or TNLs on accuracy rate, APD, or TAS overall, plants did interact with TNLs affecting work performance and environmental perceptions. For instance, mental workload increased with TNLs, and participants with plants generally reported higher mental workload than without plants. Critically, placing indoor plants was found to be beneficial for ERCT performance when the traffic noise did not exceed 50 dBA, but had ignorable effects at higher noise levels. Furthermore, short-term breaks taken in the presence of plants generally provided more psychological recovery (MFR, UR) than breaks without plants, aligning with previous research on stress restoration. The study concluded that the positive effects of plants on work performance and break recovery are conditional on the level of noise.

Link

Zhang, Y., Ou, D., Chen, Q. et al. (2022). The effects of indoor plants and traffic noise on English reading comprehension of Chinese university students in home offices. Front. Psychol., 29

 

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