Aquariums in Healthcare: Designing Calming Patient Environments
Healthcare environments today are under immense pressure to deliver not just clinical outcomes, but a meaningful patient experience, one that reduces anxiety, supports emotional well-being, and sets the tone for care. Aquariums have quietly occupied hospital lobbies and dental offices for decades, yet their potential as designed therapeutic tools is only now being understood.
And the research is clear: when done intentionally, aquariums improve how people feel.
Not theoretically. Not anecdotally. Measurably.
The Evidence: Aquariums Change Patient Physiology and Perception
A 2021 study in PLOS ONE measured stress levels in individuals waiting for minor medical procedures with and without a live-fish aquarium present. Patients exposed to the aquarium experienced:
Reduced anxiety
Improved pain thresholds
Higher perceived calmness during the wait
Source: Lundberg et al., 2021. Effects of an aquarium in the waiting area on stress and pain thresholds.
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0258118
These outcomes matter. They influence patient satisfaction scores, compliance, and the emotional tone of care before anyone is seen by a provider.
But the quality of the aquarium matters just as much as the presence of one.
Why Design, Composition, and Stocking Level Matter
A landmark dose–response study published in Environment & Behavior examined how people reacted to different levels of marine life during the restocking of a large public aquarium. Visitors and experimental participants were exposed to three versions of the same exhibit:
Unstocked (water + décor)
Partially stocked
Fully stocked (highest species richness)
As the aquarium became richer in life, the benefits increased:
Longer viewing times
Greater reductions in heart rate
Improved mood
Higher interest and willingness to continue watching
This confirms a key principle in our work:
The therapeutic impact of an aquarium isn’t just the tank—it’s the composition.
Source: Cracknell et al., 2016. Marine Biota and Psychological Well-Being: A Preliminary Examination of Dose–Response Effects in an Aquarium Setting.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916515597512
The takeaway for healthcare environments is direct:
A thoughtfully designed, intentionally stocked aquarium provides more calm, more interest, and a more restorative experience than a generic tank.
Designing for Healthcare: My Approach
When I create aquariums for medical spaces, the goals are specific:
Reduce perceived wait time through movement, depth, and soft visual rhythm.
Support calm physiology with stable, predictable flow and non-chaotic stocking.
Match the palette and architecture so the aquarium feels integrated, not ornamental.
Select livestock that aligns with therapeutic viewing—species with fluid, calming motion over frantic behavior.
Engineer the system for silence and reliability, removing maintenance burden from staff.
The result is an installation that feels less like décor and more like a purposeful part of the patient environment a living element that helps people breathe differently the moment they sit down.
Closing Thought
Healthcare design is evolving, and so is the expectation for patient-centered environments.
An aquarium, when curated with intention offers something rare: an immediate, evidence-based way to bring calm, beauty, and emotional relief into spaces that need it most.
If you're designing a medical office, clinic, or wellness practice and want to explore what an integrated aquarium can do for your space, I’d love to help.