What Neuroscience Can Teach Us About Office Design



Neuroscience is a fascinating area of study, focusing on how the human nervous system (including the brain) is structured, how it develops and how it works. While this is a very specific and advanced area of study, it has a huge range of practical, everyday applications that can even apply to how we use – and can improve – the workplace.

Office life and the Circadian Rhythm 

 The Circadian Rhythm is the name given to our internal clock – a cycle that drives our mental, physical, and behavioral changes through the 24-hour day, governed primarily by responses to light and darkness. We develop this rhythm as infants, and recent Nobel prize-winning studies have demonstrated how this rhythm, controlled by a gene in each of us, controls vital parts of our day by releasing sleep hormones, determining when we are most alert and able to focus, and even controlling body temperature. It also showed that misaligning this rhythm with our lifestyle can result in higher risks of certain diseases and mental health conditions.

So how should this impact workplace design? The key here is “light”. Cutting-edge office design is using this knowledge of Circadian Rhythms to adapt offices to ensure there is more access to natural lighting to create a stronger alignment with this natural cycle. Studies showed the benefits of natural light over artificial lighting, as participants with better access to natural light showed better sleep habits, lower stress rates and less tiredness in the workplace – all the better for productivity and general wellness.

Mirror neurons help develop team potential 

 Mirror neurons are located in the brain and become active when we perform an action as well as when we see someone else perform that action. Neuroscience studies have shown a similar effect to both emotional reactions as well as physical ones – for example, when we see someone get injured, we flinch in “pain”. This isn’t just about reactions, however, it shows how social beings, like humans, are able to build bonds with one another and share a sense of empathy.

In the workplace, this translates to that ever-important goal of developing a strong and successful team. For this to happen, individuals need to learn to work together, to motivate one another and help each other. So how can office design and office furniture help enhance this through optimizing mirror neuron response? By creating easy access to one another and clear lines of sight throughout the space, through glass partitions and open working spaces, for example.


Design, fit and furnish a cutting-edge workspace 

 BE Furniture is a New Jersey-located company that strives to meet all your corporate office furniture and office design needs. We can assist you with everything from contemporary office furniture, architectural walls and interiors to office design, fitting and furniture recycling. For more information on the latest modern office design ideas and corporate office furniture, please contact us today or visit our website at https://www.befurniture.com/

Original content posted on https://www.befurniture.com/neuroscience-can-teach-us-office-design/

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