Can the Belgian Coastal Environment Improve Physical and Cognitive Health in Older Adults?

NCT06893224 | Active Not Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: ONZ-2024-0225
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 60
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this interventional study is to learn if exposure to coastal environments improves the physical and cognitive health of older adults over the age of 60. The main questions it aims to answer are: Does coastal exposure affect physical stress levels in older adults? Does coastal exposure affect self-reported stress levels in older adults? Does coastal exposure affect cognitive measures, such as sustained attention, in older adults? Does coastal exposure affect sleep quality in older adults? Is there a difference between the various components of coastal environments (e.g. dykes, dunes,...) in their effect on older adults' physical stress? This wil be a within-subject study, in which participants get exposed to both a coastal and an urban environment to compare their response to these environments. Participants will perform a coastal and urban walk on different days, equipped with wearable sensors (namely a wrist- and chestband) to measure various parameters such as heart rate and skin conductivity. Before, during and after the walk saliva samples will be collected for cortisol analysis. Before and after the walks they will also answer some questions (on e.g. overall demographics but also self-reported mental health) and perform cognitive tests (to study e.g. sustained attention).

Conditions

Physiologic Monitoring; Self-report Questionnaire; Sleep Quality; Cognitive Function

Keywords

Coastal environments; Older adults; Physiological stress; Cognitive function; Sleep quality

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (9)

• Heart rate variability - Time-domain measures

  During the entire protocol, both in the first and second phases of the study, interbeat intervals (IBIs) will be recorded using the Polar H10 chestband. From these IBIs, heart rate variability (HRV) measures will be calculated. Time-domain measures will be expressed in milliseconds (ms), including SDNN (Standard Deviation of NN intervals) and RMSSD (Root Mean Square of Successive Differences). These parameters provide insight into autonomic nervous system activity, particularly parasympathetic modulation.

  For a period of 2,5 to 3 hours

• Heart rate variability - Frequency-domain measures

  During the entire protocol, both in the first and second phases of the study, interbeat intervals (IBIs) will be recorded using the Polar H10 chestband. From these IBIs, heart rate variability (HRV) measures will be calculated. Frequency-domain measures, including low-frequency (LF) power, high-frequency (HF) power (expressed in milliseconds squared \[ms²\] or normalized units \[nu\]), and the LF/HF ratio (unitless), will be analyzed. These parameters provide insight into autonomic nervous system activity, with HF power primarily reflecting parasympathetic modulation and the LF/HF ratio indicating the balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic influences.

  For a period of 2,5 to 3 hours

• Electrodermal activity

  Electrodermal activity (EDA) of participants will be measured using the EmbracePlus wristband. EDA will be continuously recorded throughout the entire protocol, both during the first and second phases of the study. The primary EDA outcome measures include skin conductance level (SCL) and skin conductance responses (SCRs), both expressed in microsiemens (µS), These parameters provide insight into sympathetic nervous system activity and arousal dynamics.

  For a period of 2,5 to 3 hours

• Salivary cortisol

  Saliva samples will be collected in the first phase of the study, at 4 time points: before the exposure (baseline), after the seated exposure of 15 minutes, right after the walk, and 20 minutes after the walk. These saliva samples will be analysed for the presence of cortisol, which is expressed in nmol/L.

  At 4 time points: before the exposure (baseline), after the seated exposure of 15 minutes, right after the walk, and 20 minutes after the walk

• Sustained attention - Total number of items processed

  Sustained attention will be measured immediately before and after exposure to both environments, in both phases of the study. The validated d2 test of attention will be used for this. One outcome of this test is the total number of items processed (TN). This represents the total number of stimuli (letters) that a participant has scanned and attempted to process within the given time, with higher numbers indicating better sustained attention.

  Immediately before and immediately after the exposure to both environments (takes approximately 15 minutes)

• Sustained attention - Performance

  Sustained attention will be measured immediately before and after exposure to both environments, in both phases of the study. The validated d2 test of attention will be used for this. Another outcome of this test is the performance (P). This is calculated as the number of correctly marked target stimuli minus the number of errors (including both commission and omission errors). The higher this performance score, the better the participants' sustained attention.

  Immediately before and immediately after the exposure to both environments (takes approximately 15 minutes)

• Sustained attention - Error percentage

  Sustained attention will be measured immediately before and after exposure to both environments, in both phases of the study. The validated d2 test of attention will be used for this. Another outcome of this test is error percentage. This indicates the percentage of errors relative to the total number of marked items. Errors can be divided into: 1) commission errors (false positives) and 2) ommission errors (false negatives). Commision errors represent the incorrectly marked symbols that are not target stimuli. The ommission errors are the target stimuli that weren't marked. The lower the error percentage, the better participants' sustained attention.

  Immediately before and immediately after the exposure to both environments (takes approximately 15 minutes)

• Processing speed - Total correct responses

  Processing speed will be measured immediately before and after exposure to both environments, in both phases of the study. The validated Symbol Digit Modalities Test will be used for this. One outcome measure is the number of total correct responses. This is the number of correct symbol-digit pairings made within the given time limit. The higher this number, the better participants' processing speed.

  Immediately before and immediately after the exposure to both environments (takes approximately 15 minutes)

• Processing speed - Error rate

  Processing speed will be measured immediately before and after exposure to both environments, in both phases of the study. The validated Symbol Digit Modalities Test will be used for this. Another outcome measure of this test is the error rate, which is the number of incorrect responses. The lower the error rate, the better for participants' processing speed.

  Before and after the exposure to both environments (takes approximately 15 minutes)

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• Perceived stress

  Immediately before and after exposure to both environments

• Perceived mental exhaustion

  Immediately before and after exposure to both environments

• Positive mood and negative mood

  Immediately before and after exposure to both environments

• Sleep quality

  14 days

Study Arms (2)

First a coastal exposure followed by an urban exposure

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants assigned to this arm will first perform a coastal exposure (15 minutes of seated exposure, followed by 30 minute-walk), followed by an urban exposure a week later.

Other: Coastal exposure; Other: Urban exposure

First an urban exposure, followed by a coastal exposure

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants assigned to this arm will first perform an urban exposure (15 minutes of seated exposure, followed by 30 minute-walk), followed by a coastal exposure a week later.

Other: Coastal exposure; Other: Urban exposure

Interventions

Coastal exposure OTHER

This is a "real-life" exposure to the coastal environment, in which participants walk to a bench, sit there for 15 minutes, followed by a walk of approximately 30 minutes. After the 15 minute sitting period, a saliva sample is collected. During the walk, participants are equipped with wearable sensors. The walking route is indicated on a map.

First a coastal exposure followed by an urban exposure; First an urban exposure, followed by a coastal exposure

Urban exposure OTHER

This is a "real-life" exposure to the urban environment, in which participants walk to a bench, sit there for 15 minutes, followed by a walk of approximately 30 minutes. After the 15 minute sitting period, a saliva sample is collected. During the walk, participants are equipped with wearable sensors. The walking route is indicated on a map.

First a coastal exposure followed by an urban exposure; First an urban exposure, followed by a coastal exposure

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 60 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• You are willing to make the time needed to complete the experiment. You understand and can communicate in Dutch. You are 60 years or older and retired. You are familiar with the city of Ostend. This means you visit Ostend multiple times per year and are preferably familiar with the area around the Grote Post and Fort Napoleon.
• You smoke no more than 10 cigarettes per day. You are able and comfortable walking for approximately 30 minutes at an average pace without aids such as a cane or walker.
• You do not have a pacemaker. You are not blind or deaf. You do not take tricyclic antidepressants or clozapine.

You may not qualify if:

• People who cannot participate in the entire experiment, do not speak Dutch, are under 60 years old or not yet retired, have a pacemaker, are blind or deaf, take tricyclic antidepressants or clozapine, are not at all familiar with the city of Ostend, smoke more than 10 cigarettes per day, or are unable to walk for 30 minutes continuously without aids are not eligible to participate in the experiment.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University Ghent: lead

Study Sites (1)

Ghent University

Ghent, 9000, Belgium

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Sleep Disorders, Intrinsic; Dyssomnias; Sleep Wake Disorders; Nervous System Diseases; Mental Disorders

Study Officials

• Mirko Petrovic

  University Ghent

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NON RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: February 17, 2025
• First Posted: March 25, 2025
• Study Start: September 25, 2024
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2027
• Last Updated: April 14, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-04

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

BE (1)