Dynamic Office Environments Improve Brain Activity and Attentional Performance Mediated by Increased Motor Activity

Conclusion The results of the present study reveal short- and mid-term effects on attentional and vigilance performance, and EEG brain activity when working in a dynamic versus a static environment. During working in a dynamic office, attentional and vigilance performance increased compared to working in a static office. Brain activities show increased alpha, beta and gamma power in the frontal and central areas in the attentional task with increased theta, alpha, and beta activity in the vigilance task. These findings suggest that working in a dynamic office environment stimulates the brain towards an optimum psychophysiological level of activation and wakefulness for attentional and vigilance performance. The results of the present study are of relevance in the field of neuroergonomics, for the design of office and school working environments and encourage the use of dynamic office desk furniture that allows movements during working to achieve increased attentional as well as vigilance performance. Ethics Statement The study was approved by the local ethics committee of the University of Mainz. All subjects gave written informed consent. All experimental procedures complied with the standards of the Helsinki Declaration of the World Medical Association Assembly. All subjects were naïve as to the purpose of the study. Author Contributions All listed authors made substantial and intellectual contributions to the manuscript. Conflict of Interest Statement The au...
Source: Frontiers in Human Neuroscience - Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research