Stopping and listening to the sound of the flowing river or the chirping of birds improves morale, cognitive performance and can decrease stress.
- Combining the different positive effects of natural sounds on participants in different studies, researchers noted a 184% improvement in overall health.
- Researchers believe that these noises facilitate mental rest.
Getting closer to nature is good for our health. In a previous study, Spanish researchers claimed that walking by the water is good for mood, vitality and mental health. In new research, Canadian scientists from Carleton University suggest that taking the time to listen to natural sounds such as the sounds of running water or birds singing improves morale, cognitive performance and even reduces the stress ! A cocktail of benefits that they present in a study published on March 22 in the scientific journal PNAS.
An improvement of 184% on general health
The researchers went through the research already carried out on the subject and focused their study on 36 of them. “We tend to look at the acoustic environment from the perspective of noise pollution and how it disturbs the flora and faunasaid Rachel Buxton, a biologist at Carleton University in Canada and lead author of the study, at theAFP. Many of us biologists are very interested in the opposite: what are the benefits of a natural acoustic environment?” Seven studies under the magnifying glass examined the effects of natural sounds on heart rate, blood pressure, the pain felt or even stress via cortisol levels. The others measured the consequences on mood or cognitive performance.
By combining the various positive effects of natural sounds on the participants in the various studies, the researchers noted an improvement of 184% in general health. A 28% reduction in the level of stress and annoyance was also noted. In the majority of research that scientists have reviewed, sounds were broadcast in a laboratory or hospital setting to participants. Of these, water, birdsong and a mixture of the two have been shown to have the most health benefits.
The less human noise, the better
The researchers also analyzed sound recordings from 68 US national parks over the past 15 years, at 221 different locations. They classified them according to their origin: human, animal or the elements (wind, rain, water…). In a quarter of them (23%), water sounds are present and almost one out of two (42%) contains the sounds of birds. This analysis allowed the researchers to determine among the parks studied which have the best sound quality, those which have a majority of natural sounds and the fewest sounds emitted by humans. At the top of the ranking are the parks located in Alaska, Hawaii and the northwest of the country.
Researchers are currently unable to explain how natural sounds are able to improve human health. “From an evolutionary perspective, an acoustic environment that has lots of natural sounds is a good indicator of a safe environment – which allows for psychic rest.”, says Rachel Buxton. The latter specifies that all sounds are not equal and that it is not enough to simply listen to noise to improve one’s health. “We have evidence that listening to natural sounds and noise is healthier than just listening to noise”, she concluded.
Noise, a healthy enemy
Many noises can be harmful to our health. In Europe, nearly 125 million people suffer from noise pollution, which is responsible for 43,000 hospitalizations and 10,000 deaths per year, according to the European Environment Agency. The first risk associated with an excessive noise level concerns hearing. Prolonged exposure to intense noise levels gradually destroys the hair cells of the inner ear and progressive deafness then begins to set in. Numerous studies have shown that workers exposed to noise are more likely to be prone to cardiovascular disorders. Noise also disrupts the recuperative function of sleep and can lead to chronic fatigue. Finally, several studies have highlighted the mental health risks of excessive noise exposure.
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