Indoor air pollution could impact creative potential of occupants, study finds
air quality at offices could negatively impact the creativity of workers, according to a new study.
Researchers at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, found that the 87 study participants, all undergraduate and postgraduate students, produced creative output with lower scores when there were high indoor levels of volatile organic compounds, including gases released from products such as detergents, perfumes and paint.
They further found that lowering total volatile organic compounds (TVOC) levels in a room by 72 per cent could improve a student's creative potential by 12 per cent. They have published their findings in the journal Scientific Reports.
«This could have serious consequences for industries that rely on creativity for the bulk of their work.
»For instance, artists often use paints and thinners that release high levels of volatile organic compounds and may not know they need adequate ventilation to clear them from their workplace," said lead researcher Wan Man Pun from the School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, NTU.
For the study spanning over six weeks, the researchers recruited undergraduate and postgraduate students in a controlled environment depicting an indoor workspace.
Every week across three 40-minute sessions, the participants read a summary of a global issue such as climate change, mental health, and poverty and then offered a solution by building a 3D model using LEGO bricks.
The students were then asked to produce a written description and explanation for their models.
