Abstract
This study explores the physiological and psychological recovery effects of outdoor soundscapes on the elderly in urban nursing homes. In this study, virtual reality technology was used to reproduce the outdoor audio-visual environment of a nursing home for 29 older adults in a laboratory environment. The experiment used a within-group design to measure the participants' physical and psychological responses. The physiological indicators included skin conductance level (SCL), heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (HRV), respiratory rate (RF), and blink frequency (BF), and the psychological indicators included emotional level and attention. This study confirmed that the outdoor soundscape in nursing homes has inductive and restorative physiological and psychological effects on elderly people by comparing the data from the audio-visual experiment and the pure video experiment. Additionally, it was found that an environment that is too quiet has the potential to impair the mental state of elderly people. We also found that in addition to SCL and HR, many physiological indicators showed noticeable changes after 1 min. Time trends in changes in SCL and positive mood indicators were statistically significant. The data and findings of this study can be widely used in future in-depth research on aged care settings.
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