Can multisensory environments help reduce anxiety and stress in university students?

The challenge is creating learning spaces that meet the needs of diverse populations and understanding that there is no single approach to designing these spaces.

When creating environments to support learning for populations with neurodiversity, we aim to create dynamic and flexible spaces that support the needs of the individual. We draw upon our experience to create psychologically safe and supportive environments. In those spaces, there are various levels of engagement in group and individual settings. We know that furniture arrangements; spatial layouts; organization; and limiting visual clutter, color, texture, acoustics, and light all play a delicate balance in creating a harmonious space that fosters an ideal place to learn.

Could multisensory environments provide stress relief for college students?

We wanted to know how multisensory spaces impact students. To find out, we partnered with Amanda Gale and Lisa Williams. Gale is a professor of the Department of Interior Architecture at the University of North Carolina – Greensboro (UNC Greensboro) and Williams is a graduate student in that program. We studied the following questions about multisensory rooms for college students:

1. What effect does visiting a multisensory environment have on the perceived anxiety and stress of college students?
2. What strategies do college students use to cope with anxiety and stress?
3. What multisensory elements do college students identify as being the most effective at reducing perceived stress and anxiety?

To find out, we started with an old, empty office.

The 267-square-foot (25-square-metre) room is on the ground floor of a building on the UNC Greensboro campus. While we had a minimal budget for renovations, we were able to install:

• New carpet with biophilic patterning (donated by Interface flooring).
• Acoustic divider screen (donated by Autex).
• Large-scale mural.
• New wall paint.
• Lighting elements. They are individually adjustable to change light intensity and color.
• Swing chair.
• Bean bag chair.
• Weighted stuffed animal.
• Playable music options.
• Bubble tube (sensory device that provides calming visual feedback in color-changing moving bubbles).
• Water fountain.
• Smart fan.
• Essential oil diffusers.
• Multitexture textile created by Williams.

When the room was ready, we invited 49 students to use the space. We asked them to take a short survey before and after visiting the room for 30 minutes.

We used the Perceived Stress Scale and Perceived Restorativeness Scale, along with seven open-ended questions, to measure stress and the restorative effects of the room. The Perceived Stress Scale asks participants to describe how often certain problems such as trouble relaxing or feeling nervous, anxious, or on edge bothered them on a four-point scale from “not at all” to “nearly every day.” The Perceived Restorativeness Scale asks participants to indicate the extent to which a series of statements describes their experience in the room. They range from “being here is an escape experience” and “this place is boring” to “the setting is fascinating.”

We also asked the participants to list which elements in the space helped them feel less stressed and what, if anything, they would like to see added to the space.

What the stats show

Of the 49 participants, most identified as female (87.1 percent) and between the ages of 18 and 22 (90.3 percent). They spent an average of about 28 minutes in the room.

Most participants indicated their levels of perceived stress decreased, with an average reduction of 3.62 points out of 40 on the Perceived Stress Scale. The average restorative score was 4.5 out of 6. In other words, most participants felt stressed before entering the room, but for the majority, their stress decreased after spending time there. Most found the space to be restorative.

What was most effective?

Giving participants control over their environment aids in self-regulation. The room provided full-spectrum lighting with control of light color across the Kelvin range of the light spectrum as well as power intensity with dimming features.

In the survey, students told us that they liked the adjustable lighting and sound elements. They especially enjoyed the ability to select and control music individually. Being able to individualize and personalize the space gave participants a comforting sense of control over their environment.

What else did students want?

When we asked students what they would have liked to have had in the space, some mentioned “things to do,” meaning something to play with or fidget with. This response correlated with participants who preferred active strategies for coping with stress.

However, most elements within the room were intended for more passive engagement. Some students also preferred to recline or lie down rather than merely sit.

What we learned

Despite the small scope and budget of this renovation, the results were positive. With proper planning and implementation as a part of a renovation or new construction project, a multisensory environment promises to be one successful tactic for reducing student stress and anxiety. 

As we strive to increase voice and choice through sensory environments and architecture, we plan to use the best practices from the fields of trauma-informed design and sensory-sensitive research. Sensory room design deserves more research and attention.