Birdsong Reduces Anxiety and Irrational Thoughts

When you hear birds sing, it’s always a good idea to stop and listen. New research published in Scientific Reports demonstrates that birdsong reduces both anxiety and irrational thoughts.

The researchers, from the Max Planck Institute for Human Development and the Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, had 295 human subjects listen to six minutes of either typical traffic noise or birdsong, each with varying degrees of intensity. Before and after listening to the clips, the subjects were asked to assess their mental health and to perform some simple cognitive tests.

To cut to the chase: birdsong reduced anxiety and paranoia while traffic noise worsened depressive states. “Everyone has certain psychological dispositions,” explains lead author Emil Stobbe. “Healthy people can also experience anxious thoughts or temporary paranoid perceptions.” For some reason, the sound of birds chirping alleviates these moods.

The researchers – who work in a department dedicated to studying the effects of the physical environment on the individual – surmise that birdsong sends a subtle signal that the natural environment is intact, which “naturally” makes us feel safe. Their previous research showed that a one-hour walk in nature likewise reduces stress.

For eight hours of pure mental health, volume up here.

Photo credit: Stephen Gosser / Penn State University