Sensory Gardens: How they help reduce stress, restore

attention and improve accomplishment

Evidence of nature benefits parallels rise in sensory gardens

Source: http://www.gardensofreflection.com/sensorygardens.php Source: Sepideh Arkani’s photograph

What is a sensory garden?

Source: news.psu.edu; www.starkey.com; parade.com; www.pinterest.com; www.oprah.com

+ heat, pain, balance, body awareness, … up to 21 senses Source: sensorytrust.org.uk, 2016

Or up to 53 senses: Radiation – colour, mood, temperature

Feeling – air/wind pressure and motion

Chemical – hormonal sense, e.g. hunger for food, water, air

Mental – self, friendship, companionship Source: sensorytrust.org.uk, 2016

Sensory: ‘relating to sensation, transmitted or perceived by the senses’ – Source: Oxforddictionary.com, 2016

Source: ashtononribble.com, 2016

Sensory gardens and experiences

Paley Park pocket garden, New York City (source: www.flickr.com)

Children’s sensory garden at Tatton Park, 2014 (source: homedecorlover.xyz)

History of sensory gardens

(source: Brookes, 1985) Source: Sepideh Arkani’s photograph

Why do we need sensory gardens?

Spending time in + having a view of a garden positively influences employees’ stress level (Stigsdotter and Grahn, 2004)

Higher levels of green space are associated with lower perceived + physiological stress (Roe et al., 2013)

We have an instinctive affinity with natural systems, which makes contact with nature beneficial to our health + wellbeing (Erickson, 2012).

Physiological + Psychological Stress (Ulrich, 1991) Mental fatigue (Kaplan, 1995)

Recovery from Stress + mental fatigue by PNS + engaging indirect attention

source: www.healinglandscapes.org

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Sensory perception and emotions

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The ANS and stress In an emergency In a non-emergency

Stress Reduction Theory (SRT) Viewing unthreatening natural stimuli reduces the stress response + accelerates psychological and physiological recovery

Recovery results from boosting positive, and reducing negative, emotions (Ulrich, 1979, 1984)

Is strongly influenced by the parasympathetic nervous system (Ulrich, 1991)

Green space and nature are beneficial for mental health (Beyer et al., 2014)

Type of natural setting is not important (Van den Berg et al., 2012)

Attention Restoration Theory (ART)

Interaction with nature heals mental fatigue and recovers capacity to focus attention

A walk in nature reduced anxiety, rumination, negative affect, maintained positive affect, increased verbal working memory (Bratman et al., 2012)

Walking in urban green space reduced stress, arousal, frustration, and directed attention. Walking in busy commercial district increased engagement, alertness, and directed attention (Aspinal et al., 2013)

A 90 min nature walk decreased neural activity in the subgenual prefrontal cortex, compared to a 90 min urban walk (Bratman et al., 2015)

Does the type of nature matter?

Mapledown school (source: http://www.mapledownschool.co.uk)

Norwood mental health residential care village (source: http://www.greenstonedesign.co.uk)

Impact of colour

Impact of biological sound

Connection to nature

(Ratcliffe et al., 2013)

Effortless focus of attention on new stimuli

Positive emotion and

reduced arousal

No sound (Shaw et al.,

2015)

Source: All-free-download.com

Impact of scent

Psychophysiological

responses to Japanese

plum blossom

Responses to lavender and rosemary essential oils

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Herb raised bed for pollinators

Bed for butterflies

Biophilic pond for reflection