1. Do Attention and Memory Tasks Require the Same Lighting? A Study in University Classrooms
- Author
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Llinares Millán, María Del Carmen, Castilla-Cabanes, Nuria, and Higuera-Trujillo, Juan Luis
- Subjects
Neuroarchitecture ,psychological responses ,Higher education ,CONSTRUCCIONES ARQUITECTONICAS ,Emerging technologies ,Computer science ,lighting ,Teaching method ,Geography, Planning and Development ,TJ807-830 ,Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law ,TD194-195 ,Renewable energy sources ,memory ,Memory ,Human–computer interaction ,Psychological responses ,Attention ,GE1-350 ,Effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance ,Human centric lighting ,classroom design ,Lighting ,Virtual classroom ,Environmental effects of industries and plants ,Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment ,business.industry ,neuroarchitecture ,Classroom design ,Cognition ,attention ,Environmental sciences ,human centric lighting ,ORGANIZACION DE EMPRESAS ,business - Abstract
[EN] Lighting plays a fundamental role in learning spaces as it influences students' performance. Nowadays, new technologies and new teaching methods in higher education mean that very different visual tasks are performed in the classroom, so further research is necessary to identify what lighting is best suited to these new tasks. The objective of the study is to analyse the impact that variations in levels of illuminance and Correlated Colour Temperature (CCT) of classrooms have on the cognitive functions (attention and memory) of university students. The cognitive performance of 90 participants was evaluated based on attention and memory tasks. The participants had to view nine virtual classroom configurations, with three different illuminance settings (100 lx, 300 lx and 500 lx) and three CCTs (3000 K, 4000 K and 6500 K). The results showed that attention and memory tasks require different level of illumination. While attention improves with higher light levels, memory improves with lower light levels. Higher CCTs generate better performance in both attention and memory tasks. These results highlight the link between lighting and students' cognitive responses. This study and its methodology can be useful for architects and researchers as they establish lighting design guidelines capable of improving students' cognitive processes, This work was supported by the Ministerio de Economia, Industria y Competitividad of Spain (Project BIA2017-86157-R; and PRE2018-084051).
- Published
- 2021
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