Built environment impacts student mental health and learning
The physical environment is vital for students' concentration and overall well-being. Proper lighting, ventilation, acoustics, and air quality contribute to a healthier, more comfortable learning atmosphere, enhancing both academic performance and mental health.
Thoughtful environmental design in educational spaces fosters educational equity, accessibility, and student well-being. Purpose of this study is to understand how the different environmental factors like light, temperature, sound, air quality, and layout of space affect students in terms of their concentration and well-being to support inclusive design improvements.
Longer Study Description
The built environment significantly influences psychological well-being, particularly anxiety and sadness. Poorly defined spaces and adverse physical conditions such as overcrowding, noise, extreme temperatures, and inadequate lighting can exacerbate anxiety. Key building features, including layout, ventilation, and lighting, affect mental health and concentration. Students are particularly sensitive to environmental factors like temperature, light, and air pollution, making proper ventilation in learning environments essential to maintaining air quality and thermal comfort. Poor ventilation and high levels of indoor pollutants, such as CO₂, are linked to respiratory issues, concentration, cognitive decline, anxiety, depression, and other psychiatric disorders.
Thermal comfort significantly impacts students’ mental health, focus, and academic performance, with extreme temperatures associated with depression, anxiety, mood disorders, and aggression. Noise also detrimentally affects mental health, increasing irritability, anxiety, and depression, while quieter environments improve learning outcomes. Lighting conditions play a crucial role, with adequate lighting reducing depression and enhancing mood, focus, and learning.
Students, facing academic and social stressors, including those with sensory needs, are particularly vulnerable to mental health challenges. Academic buildings profoundly influence their well-being, yet research remains limited to large-scale urban settings or general campus features. There is a critical need for studies on how specific environmental factors in educational buildings affect anxiety and mental health outcomes.
The built environment significantly influences psychological well-being, particularly anxiety and sadness
[Chan et al., 2024; Liu et al., 2024; Buttazzoni et al., 2021; Liddicoat et al., 2024]. Poorly defined spaces
and adverse physical conditions—such as overcrowding, noise, extreme temperatures, and inadequate
lighting—exacerbate anxiety [Finell et al., 2024; Beemer et al., 2021; Hoisington et al., 2019]. Key building features, including layout, ventilation, and lighting, affect mental health and concentration.
Students are particularly sensitive to environmental factors like temperature, light, and air pollution, making proper ventilation in learning environments essential to maintaining air quality and thermal comfort [Fang et al., 024; Zhai et al., 2024; Krawczyk et al., 2024]. Poor ventilation and high levels of indoor pollutants, such as CO₂, are linked to respiratory issues, concentration, cognitive decline, anxiety, depression, and other psychiatric disorders [Allen et al., 2024; Madureira et al., 2024; Beemer et al., 2021].
Thermal comfort significantly impacts students’ mental health, focus, and academic performance, with
extreme temperatures associated with depression, anxiety, mood disorders, and aggression [Wang et al.,2024; Minor et al., 2024; Wong et al., 2018]. Noise also detrimentally affects mental health, increasing irritability, anxiety, and depression, while quieter environments improve learning outcomes [Beutel et al., 2024; Jensen et al., 2018; Caviola et al., 2021]. Lighting conditions play a crucial role, with adequate lighting reducing depression and enhancing mood, focus, and learning [Hoisington et al., 2019; Aries et al., 2024].
Students, facing academic and social stressors, including those with sensory needs are particularly
vulnerable to mental health challenges. Academic buildings profoundly influence their well-being, yet
research remains limited to large-scale urban settings or general campus features. There is a critical need for studies on how specific environmental factors in educational buildings affect anxiety and mental health outcomes [Wang et al., 2023; Wen et al., 2023; Sun et al., 2023]
What will participants be doing?
Participants are invited to take part in a voluntarily, anonymous online questionnaire research project. The questionnaire consists of questions and will take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
They are free to skip any questions and leave them blank if they prefer. No identifying information will be collected, ensuring that their responses remain completely anonymous.
All data will be securely stored in a password-protected location and will be destroyed at the end of the research project in accordance with ethical guidelines.
Participation is entirely voluntary, and participants are free to stop at any time before submitting their responses. However, once they click ‘Submit,’ withdrawal from the study will no longer be possible, as the data is anonymized and cannot be traced back to individual participants.
The questionnaire explores students' experiences of sensory challenges within university campus environments, including aspects such as noise, lighting, seating, and wayfinding.
Duration
The questionnaire will take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
Apply
You can access the questionnaire here
Participant characteristics:
- Aged 18+
- Any gender
Participants are being invited to take part because they are students who may experience sensory sensitivities, and their perspective is valuable in helping us understand the challenges and improvements needed in university spaces. Your insights can directly contribute to creating more inclusive, accessible, and supportive learning environments for all students.
Closing date
The study will close on 15 July 2026
Contact
If you have any questions or concern about this research, please contact the researcher Dr Theodora Mavridou at 02392842109 or dora.mavridou@port.ac.uk
If your concern or complaint is not resolved by the researcher, you should contact the Head of Department
Dr David Ndzi at 02392842362 or david.ndzi@port.ac.uk
If the complaint remains unresolved, please contact The University Officer at 02392843642 or complaintsadvice@port.ac.uk
Ethics code
TECH2024-TM-02v2