Exploring the restorative characteristics of four environmental factors in a simulated arctic research station bedroom

The extreme, confined and isolated environments of Arctic research stations pose significant threat to expedition members' mental health. As a critical restorative space, the design of the station's bedroom environment is paramount. However, existing studies have predominantly examined design factors in isolation, lacking empirical research on the effects of multiple factors. Therefore, based on Stress Reduction Theory and Attention Restoration Theory, we conducted a simulation experiment using a climatic chamber for buildings, based on the bedroom of the Chinese Arctic Yellow River Station was taken as the prototype. An orthogonal experimental design was employed to create nine virtual reality scenarios, systematically investigated the restorative benefits of four factors: color, illuminance, color temperature, and nature-connected images—each manipulated at three levels. A combination of psychological assessment and physiological measurements was employed to investigate the restorative effects. Results show that both the stress response and recovery verification phases demonstrated good experimental validity. Significant differences in the physiological and psychological restorative indicators, were induced by the four design factors. Color is the primary factor in the recovery of the physiological autonomic nervous system, while nature-connected images are the core factors that regulate cerebral recovery. This study identified the optimal dimensions of design factors (yellow, 300 lux, 4500 K, polar images) in a simulated Arctic research stations bedroom, providing a theoretical foundation and preliminary evidence for designing future polar research stations to enhance the mental health of expedition members.