Feeling Overwhelmed? Try Listening to Birdsong for a Calmer Mind

How Birdsongs vs. Traffic Noises Influence the Mind

At a time when most of the global population lives in urban areas, studies have been showing a link between living in cities and poor mental well-being. In contrast, having access to green spaces and more natural environments have been perceived as pleasant and to support health. While listening to natural soundscapes has been associated with better cognition, the question remains as to whether more diverse soundscapes confer greater benefits. Check out this study addressing that question by comparing birdsongs to traffic noises in their effects on cognition, mood, and other factors in mental well-being.

Key Takeaways 

• Listening to a high diversity of birdsongs eases negative affect

• Birdsongs, both less or more diverse, reduce unhealthy stress responses and unhealthy thought patterns

• Traffic noise soundscapes aggravate negative affect, but unhealthy stress responses and unhealthy thought patterns are unchanged

• Neither birdsongs nor traffic noise affect cognition 

In parallel with the global shift of populations from rural to urban areas, the impact of one’s surroundings on well-being has been receiving increasing attention. Studies have linked a higher likelihood of mood issues and feelings of life dissatisfaction to living in urban environments. Conversely, having more access to green space and natural environments that are serene and diverse have been associated with better emotional health and feeling more rested.

Two major theories have been proposed to explain these findings: one posits that landscapes with vegetation, water and other aspects that are beneficial for survival help decrease negative thoughts and stress; the other puts forward that stimuli from nature support cognition by reducing potential distractions and helping with attention.

Sounds from nature could in fact be helpful for memory and mood as they might be unconsciously associated with a safe and vital environment.

Sounds from nature could in fact be helpful for memory and mood as they might be unconsciously associated with a safe and vital environment. As a typical example of a natural soundscape, links have been made between birdsongs and both better mental wellness and better cognitive performance. In this regard, one factor perceived as important for benefits on well-being and life satisfaction is having a higher diversity of bird species. 

Listening to Birdsongs Supports Healthier Mood

Comparing nature versus city soundscapes, a previous study found that natural sounds support cognition but do not improve mood. In that study, cognition was assessed by two tests — the digit-span test, wherein participants are required to accurately repeat series of digits of increasing length; and the dual n-back task, a test of memory that requires participants to remember which image or spoken letter were presented or said two or three trials prior.

Generally aiming to build on those findings and experimental approach, researchers in Germany evaluated mood and cognition while also assessing the effects of diversity of natural and urban soundscapes. Specifically, the scientists compared low to high numbers of birdsongs or traffic noise sources in the soundscapes that participants were exposed to. Each soundscape lasted for 6 minutes.

Low diversity of birdsongs meant sounds from two species, whereas high diversity included songs from eight different bird species. Conversely, the low diversity condition regarding traffic noise had car sounds only, while high diversity traffic noise meant several sources of noise pollution associated with the city (ambulance siren, construction, trucks, train, motorcycle, airplane, bus, and fire-fighter siren). Both natural and urban soundscapes had appropriate sounds — such as water in one case and traffic flow in the other — playing in the background.

The online study thus hypothesized that birdsongs are beneficial for negative affect, cognition, and other aspects of mental well-being. Also, it tested whether greater diversity of bird species or urban noise sounds modulates the effects.

From a total of 295 participants, results first showed that negative affect was significantly more severe after listening to either high or low diversity of traffic noises, although the effect was stronger with high diversity. After listening to the birdsongs, there were either no changes in negative affect when diversity was lower or there were less negative affect when the number of species was higher.

The study revealed that listening to birdsong for as little as 6 minutes reduced unhealthy stress responses and unhealthy thought patterns.

Unhealthy stress responses, on their part, were unchanged with either traffic noise set and were reduced with both low and high diversity of birdsongs. The same pattern was seen when analyzing unhealthy thought patterns, which means thinking someone's laughing at you, talking about you, following you or out to get you. This was the first time a study showed benefits of natural soundscapes on such thought patterns, according to the investigators.

Notably, cognition — again assessed with the digit-span test and the dual n-back task  — was not affected by natural or urban sounds. These results are in contrast with those of the previous study that reported improvements upon exposure to natural sounds. Among other factors, this lack of effect in the present study could be due to little practice allowed before the tests, meaning that the participants may not have understood the task correctly, the scientists said.

Results also showed that the participants did not perceive the difference between low and high diversity in birdsongs (and species) as significant. This, said the researchers, means that the way they designed the assessments of diversity was only partially successful.

The similar results with high and low diversity of birdsongs on mood and unhealthy thought patterns could have multiple explanations. It could be that listening to a more diverse birdsong soundscape is not the same as experiencing it out in nature. It also could be that it takes some expertise to appreciate birdsong diversity; maybe the study sample included mostly lay people on this subject, the scientists hypothesized, which would help explain why there were no perceived differences between low and high diversity of birdsongs. Increasing the contrast between the soundscapes and monitoring how much of an expert a participant is on natural sounds are suggestions for future studies.

Overall, in case the results are confirmed in future studies, maybe birdsongs could be established as a way to help relax and improve mood for people in need. Also, the findings speak of the importance of having green areas nearby, hopefully helping to influence public policies.

Feed Your Brain With Qualia Mind

Qualia Mind supports your body’s own ability to upregulate the production of key neurotransmitters, BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor), and other pathways that are critical for optimal brain function. When you give your brain the fuel it needs to perform its best, magic happens. Learn more about why Qualia Mind is the world’s most advanced cognitive support supplement. Use code mind and take 15% off when you shop Qualia.*

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Referenced study:
Stobbe, E, Sundermann, J, Ascone, L, Kühn, S: Birdsongs alleviate anxiety and paranoia in healthy participants. Sci Rep. 2022, 12(1):16414. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-20841-0