Effects of Audio–Visual Interaction on Physio-Psychological Recovery of Older Adults in Residential Public Space

Abstract

It is now well established that everyday interaction with nature has a restorative potential on the elderly population’s health and well-being. However, empirical evidence on the restorative effects of neighborhood greenspace is still lacking, and scant attention has been given to the cross-effect of the visual–audio experience. The present study examined the restorative effects of audio–visual interactions on older adults in typical residential public spaces in Chinese cities. A pretest–post-test design was used to measure changes in participants’ physiological responses, mood states, and mental restoration. Participants (mean age = 68.88 years) were asked to experience six simulated audio–visual conditions (3 scenes × 2 sounds) of residential public space. The results showed that: (1) A green scene combined with nature sounds showed the most restorative effect on the elderly participants’ psycho-physiological health. (2) Viewing green scenes facilitated the most psycho-physiological recovery for the elderly, followed by viewing the activity scene. (3) Compared to the traffic noise, adding nature sounds could promote many more benefits in HR recovery, positive mood promotion, and perceived restorative effects, and the advantage of nature sounds over traffic noise was mainly demonstrated in the green scene. (4) Visual scenes demonstrated a greater impact on the elderly participants’ psycho-physiological recovery than the sounds. Our findings suggested the necessity of providing residential nature and activity spaces, encompassing both sound and vision, to promote healthy aging in Chinese residential contexts.