Good acoustics lower heart rates
When an extensive survey1 found that 80% of teachers were stressed by noise, the German Federal Institute of Occupational Health was commissioned to carry out an extensive research project2 on "Noise in educational establishments".
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Observations from more than 570 lessons showed an average classroom SPL (sound pressure level) of approximately 65 dB(A).
Activity sound levels that are this high mean that communication can be extremely difficult or even impossible. Researchers found a correlation between sound levels and heartrate3. So they then wanted to see if these stress levels could be reduced by improving the sound environment.
With the installation of Class A absorbing acoustic treatment, teacher heart rates calm down by 10 beats per minute (bpm).
How it’s possible
If a classroom has poor acoustics, sound is amplified as it bounces off the reflective ceiling and walls. This creates background noise which distorts speech. Sound levels then escalate because both teachers and learners have to raise their voices to be heard. In addition, it was found these environments often felt progressively more stressful as the day progressed and noise levels continued to rise.
Reducing noise and reverberation reducing stress. Classrooms were refurbished with high preforming “Class A” sound absorbing Ecophon Master™ which acoustically transformed the space into more relaxed environment where everyone felt calmer, resulting in lowered teacher heart rates. Teachers experienced considerably less stress in classrooms when the reverberation time is less than 0.5 seconds.
Read more about the research Teacher survey here.
Read further about this in our research summary “Impact of noise in education - A research summary” how they also sought to discover how classroom noise actually affects teachers and students during activities3 (on page 20) and the link between concentration and the Lombard effect (on page 14).
Heart rate is a medically recognised stressor.
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References:
1 Acoustic ergonomics of school. Tiesler & Oberdöster 2006.
2 & 3 “Communication behaviour and workload of students and teachers in highly absorbent classrooms” Tiesler 2018.