Listen to the Birds

Scientific research has shown that interacting with Nature is good for your body and your mind.  Two studies published last year in Scientific Reports find that birdsong is good for our mental health.  US Person always enjoys listening to birdsong outside his window at dawn even if he is immersed indorvielle The dawn chorus has noticeably lessening over the last two decades, so he makes an effort to maintain a yard space hospitable to birds. A graduate of Max Planck Institute for Human Development and an author of one of the studies says, “The special thing about birdsongs is that even if people live in very urban environments and do not have a lot of contact with nature, they link the songs of birds to vital and intact natural environments.”

For the tech obsessed, one study should be of special interest.  Researchers asked 1300 participants to collect information about their environments and well being using an APP on their smart devices three times a day.  They were not told what type of information the researchers were interested to obtain. The data set collected showed that hearing or seeing birds persistently improved mental well being.  US Person can personally attest to this effect as young child laying ill in hospital bed when he listened to cardinal sing outside his room window.  He still recalls that special moment, as it seemed the bird was singing to him.  An author of this study from Kings College London said the bird effects works with patients experiencing depression too.

If you listen to recorded birdsong for six minutes with headphones, you also experience the healing effect of their song. Two hundred ninety-five study participants listened to recordings of traffic noise or birdsong.  Those listening to birdsong experienced lessened levels of anxiety and paranoia.  Going out into Nature to hear birdsong and view green landscapes reduces rumination, which is linked to depressive states and mental illness.  Even if your frontier stops at your lot lines you can enjoy the health benefits of Nature and her singing creatures.