Health and Wellbeing at Lancaster University

23rd March , 2018Jason Homan – Head of Development ProjectsVicki Mathews – Development Manager

Health and Wellbeing at Lancaster University

Some of the Underlying Causes of Mental Illness in Universities.

• The move to a new area

• Missing family and friends

• Cultural implications

• Managing life skills – cooking, banking

• Difficulties with language barriers

• New ways of learning and teaching styles

• Health issues

• University lifestyle

• Balancing study with employment

The Design of our Built Environment Affects our Health and Well-being.

• The quantity and quality of social connections.

• Physical activity reduces symptoms of mental and physical ill-health.

• Being mindful – paying attention to the present and being aware of thoughts and feelings.

• Design should be responsive to user needs.

• Space influences our sense of comfort and beauty.

The Health Innovation Campus

Context for the HIC at Lancaster

• Strong national and international profile

– Times University of the Year 2018

– Triple top 10

• Faculty of Health and Medicine established 2008

• Pan-university, interdisciplinary – “One Lancaster” approach

• Engaged with all NHS organisations across Lancashire and Cumbria – “Health Hub”

• Aim to enhance health and healthcare locally and globally

Vision for the HIC

Create a world-class centre of excellence for innovation and research in population health:

• Transform health care and practice regionally and internationally impacting on health outcomes

• Bring together innovators, academics, entrepreneurs, businesses. Local government, citizens and health care providers

• Provide major contribution to regional economic development

• Support service reform in public sector

Features of the HIC

• Globally-unique testbed ecosystem: Creating, developing, evaluating, delivering and sustaining new health practices and products

• Engage the power of all academic disciplines

• Drive and support innovations for rural and dispersed, as well as urban, communities

• Link with other local, regional and national infrastructure development

Lancaster University

Concept

Site Layout

Materials

Internal Impressions

External impressions

Addressing Health and Well-being with in Student Residences at Lancaster

• Students’ wellbeing is greatly affected by their environment and the conditions they live in. Accommodation is therefore a significant part of a student’s experience whilst at university.

• Design with emphasis on the importance of light, sound, temperature, air quality, and access.

• Social study designed for wellbeing to produce better learning outcomes.

• Design through all senses – sound, smell, touch.

• Spaces to address the relational, social, and ecological needs of students.

• Residences catering for diverse and varied living patterns to provide the fundamental necessities of space, autonomy, security and good living.

Sports

Study Spaces

External Landscape

Supporting Facilities

Social Spaces

The economic

case for

human-

centred

design?HEE Forum

Dr Caroline Paradise

wellbeing

and the built environment

Adapted from

World Health Organisation.

Social determinants of health. WHO [cited 2014 Apr 9].

positive

impact of design

impact of

workplace wellbeing

negative

impact of design

financial implications

community

mental wellbeing

63% agree that a ‘sense of ownership or belonging’ has an impact on their satisfaction with the building they study in.

Atkins Human Centred Design 2016-2017

the scale of

wellbeing issues

Source: IPPR, Not by degrees: Improving student mental health in the UK's universities, 2017

Source: AoC, Survey on students with mental health conditions, 2017

World Green Building Council. 2014. Health, Wellbeing and Productivity in Offices.

business

impacts

how do you

estimate the value?

Light

Ventilation

Thermal comfort

Acoustics

Interactive office

Biophilia

Improving daylight provision

and increasing the quality of

artificial lightIncreasing ventilation and

reducing volatile compounds and

carbon dioxide

The temperature of the working

environment, individual’s

ability to control it

Environmental noise (e.g. roads),

white noise (e.g. air conditioning

systems) and pink noise (e.g. human

voice frequency)The level of control an

individual has over the office

environment, for example,

control of lighting,

ventilation and physical desk

set-upPlants, nature, a view of the

outdoors, interior colours and

materials

6 key impact areas critical

to experience and wellbeing

Atkins Human Centred

Design

human centred

design: light

Light is a external trigger for a wide

variety of biological responses. Our brain

registers light as data about the external

environment.

– Vitamin D

– Circadian rhythm

– Heart rate

– Sleep quality

– Concentration

Office workers who sit near windows in offices have, on average, 46 more minutes sleep per night than colleagues without a window. (I.Cheung, 2013)

human centred

design: light

good natural light levels

sees an improvement

impact on student

progression.

+26%

+20%Reading

Maths

4%

human centred

design: ventilation

3.5%

gains in productivity as a result of

increased outside air rates, dedicated

delivery of fresh air to the workstation,

and reduced levels of pollutants.

18.5%

human centred

design: soundNeuroscientists have linked a number of brain regions with our emotional responses to sound.

These include:

– Thalamus - Relays sensory data and helps

regulate sleep

– Amygdala - Processes memories and

emotional reactions

– Prefrontal cortex - Linked to personality and

critical decision-making

– Insular cortex - Regulates heartbeat and is

connected to empathy, pain and social

awareness

– Broca's area - Affects language

comprehension and generation

Source:http://www.amplifon.ie/resources/impact-of-sound-on-the-brain/

human centred

design: sound

2%

human centred design:

connection to nature

Visual connection

Providing a visual connection facilitates increased communications amongst colleagues and supports knowledge sharing (Shafaghat et al, 2014)

Connectivity to the

wider world

Attention restoration reduces cortisol levels and reduces stress (Lee, Williams & Sargent, 2015)

human centred

design: connection to nature

6%

the cost of

wellbeing

Light

Ventilation

Thermal comfort

Acoustics

Interactive office

Biophilia

4%

3.5%

1%

2%

5.5%

6%

Potential Productivity gain

questions

HEE Forum

Dr Caroline Paradise

caroline.paradise@atkinsglobal.com