Perceived room height can impact our capacity to perform optimally a series of different tasks.

Intuitively, we know that countless internal and external factors summed up can make or break our capacity to perform at our best and smoothly handle the tasks we have on hands. Perhaps some of us have even tried noise-cancelling headphones in an attempt to reduce the frenetic buzz of an open space office that slow our capacity to do mental math or answer an important e-mail coherently. Or we have asked the facility management numerous times to adjust the indoor temperature because no one really gets to focus on the weekly planning meeting while slowly freezing inside a gelid meeting room.

Maybe you have tried a myriad of little tweaks to improve your efficiency at work but you have never happened to consider ceiling height. Yes, you read that right: in recent years, many studies have shown that this single environmental characteristic can actually influence how efficiently we can tackle a variety of different cognitive tasks.

Understanding how our brains perceive ceiling height

In 2007, a group of Oxford researchers published a study titled “The Influence of Ceiling Height: The Effect of Priming on the Type of Processing That People Use”. The study found that individuals in rooms with higher ceilings generated more creative solutions, while those in rooms with lower ceilings performed better with analytical and logical thinking tasks.

These findings, supported by subsequent fMRI brain scans, inspired the design writer William Lidwell to term this phenomenon the Cathedral Effect [1], drawing a parallel to the extraordinarily tall Middle Ages cathedrals built in Europe, known by their capacity to foster abstract thinking and lead to the contemplation of the divine.

Our brains correlate higher ceilings with a feeling of freedom and expansiveness [2]. Now, think about how revolutionary this can be if applied to our offices and working spaces. We could actually use ceiling height to subconsciently boost our work performance according to the type of task at hand.

If you are thinking that this does not apply to you because you rent or cannot alter your space, do not worry, the following tips have got you covered! The human psyche responds to perceived truths rather than actual realities.

Lower ceilings for increased focus

Participants in the aforementioned studies performed best in exercises involving logic and analytical capacities under eight feet (~2.45m) ceilings. Need to analyze data for your team’s quarterly report? Choose a room with a lower ceiling or create a designated space for such tasks with a lowered, false ceiling. If both options are off the cards for you, you can also try the following: (remember: perception is everything!)

• Consider low-hanging ceiling lights;
• Add horizontal elements and patterns to the walls (think of wallpaper patterns or chuncky, low pieces of furniture);
• Choose a darker color for the walls and ceiling (contrary to popular belief, evidence does not support that using a contrasting colo on ceilings makes much of a difference on spatial perception, but keeping all surfaces darker can influence how our brains “read” height of a room).

Higher ceilings for greater creativity

On the contrary, ten feet (~ 3.05m) or higher ceilings witnessed consistently higher scores in creativity assessment tests in studies. If your job mainly consists in coming up with out-of-the-box solutions for challenges faced by clients [3], opt for a space with an higher ceiling or even consider going outside (the sky is literally the limit!). Alternatively, you can also:

• Lighten up (unlike focus and logical thinking, creativity tends to bloom in spaces with lighter colors. Focus on walls and ceilings, as flooring seemsto play a much smaller role in how we perceive ceiling height);
• Incorporate vertical elements and patters to the walls (you might consider long mirrors, tall bookshelves and lamps);
• Extending the wall color or material onto the ceiling (for the impression of continuity).