<p>I have found the following</p>

<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.420220608" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Older people's cardiac responses as indicators of stress in familiar and unfamiliar environments (Lewis &amp; Phillips, 2012)</a></p>

<p>I also found:</p>

<p>Padilla, A. M., Alvarez, M., &amp; Lindholm, K. J. (1986). Generational status and personality factors as predictors of stress in students. <em>Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences</em>, 8(3), 275-288.<br>
DOI: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.420220608" rel="nofollow noreferrer">10.1002/dev.420220608</a></p>

<blockquote>
  <p>stressful events center on loss of familial and cultural ties as well as on relative discomfort in an unfamiliar social environment</p>
</blockquote>

<h2>References</h2>

<p>Lewis M. J. &amp; Phillips J. E. (2012). Older people's cardiac responses as indicators of stress in familiar and unfamiliar environments. <em>Psychophysiology</em>, 49(4): pp. 478-483<br>
DOI: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8986.2011.01321.x" rel="nofollow noreferrer">10.1111/j.1469-8986.2011.01321.x</a> PMID: <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22176515" rel="nofollow noreferrer">22176515</a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-29T11:57:43.227Z
2018-03-06T16:22:39.080Z
2018-03-06T16:22:39.080Z
Chris Rogers
<p>You may be interested in related research on how unfamiliar environments negatively affect sleep quality. </p>

<p><a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(16)30174-9" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Tamaki, M., Bang, J. W., Watanabe, T., &amp; Sasaki, Y. (2016). Night watch in one brain hemisphere during sleep associated with the first-night effect in humans. Current biology, 26(9), 1190-1194.</a></p>

<p>This research has also received substantial popular press coverage, for example from <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2016/04/21/health/poor-sleep-while-traveling/index.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">CNN</a> and <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/04/21/474691141/half-your-brain-stands-guard-when-sleeping-in-a-new-place" rel="nofollow noreferrer">NPR</a>.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-21T17:33:23.080Z
2018-11-21T17:33:23.080Z
KTK
<p>It seems intuitive to me that there is some kind of stress when one is put in an unfamiliar place (There's probably effect on cognitive abilities too). However, I can't find any paper in psychology which discusses that potential relationship.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-29T02:20:51.643Z
How would you measure the familiarity of an environment?
Seanny123
<cognitive-psychology><social-psychology><psychology><stress>
Is there any research about effect of unfamiliar environment on stress?
Marko
# Is there any research about effect of unfamiliar environment on stress?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-01-28)

It seems intuitive to me that there is some kind of stress when one is put in an unfamiliar place (There's probably effect on cognitive abilities too). However, I can't find any paper in psychology which discusses that potential relationship.

**Tags:** cognitive-psychology, social-psychology, psychology, stress

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: How would you measure the familiarity of an environment?  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2018-01-29. Score: 3

I have found the following

[Older people's cardiac responses as indicators of stress in familiar and unfamiliar environments (Lewis & Phillips, 2012)](https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.420220608)

I also found:

Padilla, A. M., Alvarez, M., & Lindholm, K. J. (1986). Generational status and personality factors as predictors of stress in students. *Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences*, 8(3), 275-288.  
DOI: [10.1002/dev.420220608](https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.420220608)

> stressful events center on loss of familial and cultural ties as well as on relative discomfort in an unfamiliar social environment

## References

Lewis M. J. & Phillips J. E. (2012). Older people's cardiac responses as indicators of stress in familiar and unfamiliar environments. *Psychophysiology*, 49(4): pp. 478-483  
DOI: [10.1111/j.1469-8986.2011.01321.x](https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8986.2011.01321.x) PMID: [22176515](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22176515)


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### Answer by username_3 on 2018-11-21. Score: 2

You may be interested in related research on how unfamiliar environments negatively affect sleep quality.

[Tamaki, M., Bang, J. W., Watanabe, T., & Sasaki, Y. (2016). Night watch in one brain hemisphere during sleep associated with the first-night effect in humans. Current biology, 26(9), 1190-1194.](https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(16)30174-9)

This research has also received substantial popular press coverage, for example from [CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2016/04/21/health/poor-sleep-while-traveling/index.html) and [NPR](https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/04/21/474691141/half-your-brain-stands-guard-when-sleeping-in-a-new-place).


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