RESEARCH
The Impact of Working in a Green Certified Building on Cognitive Function and Health
Summary
This document investigated the impact of working in green certified office buildings on cognitive function and health. Recognizing that buildings significantly influence human health and previous research had linked the indoor environment to cognitive performance, the study aimed to provide empirical evidence within real-world high-performing buildings. The researchers employed a quasi-experimental design, recruiting 109 participants from 10 matched high-performing office buildings (six green certified, four non-certified) across five U.S. cities. High-performing was defined as surpassing minimum ventilation standards and having low levels of total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs). The key distinction was whether the building had achieved green certification, specifically LEED. Participants underwent a standardized computer-based cognitive function test (Strategic Management Simulation – SMS) twice during a week, completed surveys about their health and perceptions of the environment, and wore watches to track physiological data like sleep. Concurrently, various Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) parameters such as temperature, humidity, CO2, light levels, and air pollutants were monitored in their workspaces. The data were analyzed using generalized linear mixed effect models to account for clustering by participant and building.
The results demonstrated a significant positive association between working in green certified buildings and improved cognitive function and health. Participants in the green certified buildings scored 26.4% higher on average on the SMS cognitive test compared to those in the non-certified buildings. This improvement was statistically significant across 7 out of the 9 cognitive domains measured. Furthermore, participants in green certified buildings reported experiencing 30% fewer sick building syndrome symptoms daily. They also reported better perceptions of their indoor environment, including satisfaction with lighting and thermal comfort. While the measured IEQ factors, such as brighter lighting and conditions closer to thermal comfort standards (ASHRAE 55), likely contributed to these benefits, the study suggests that the advantages of green certification extend beyond easily measurable IEQ parameters. The findings support the idea that green building certifications are associated with tangible improvements in occupant productivity and health, even in buildings already performing well on basic IEQ metrics. The study advocates for a comprehensive “buildingomics” approach to understand the complex interplay of factors in buildings that influence human health.
