Khaberni - Recent studies have shown that the sounds of nature in forests positively affect the mental state, especially when they come from familiar local environments.
The results were led by the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Friedrich Schiller University in Jena, Leipzig University, Martin Luther University in Halle-Wittenberg, University of Freiburg, and were published in the "Journal of Environmental Psychology".
Participants residing in Germany reported that sounds of nature from local environments were more influential and soothing compared to sounds from tropical forests. Participants felt a general improvement when they believed they were hearing a large number of animal species.
The study included 195 people who listened to one-minute audio recordings of birdsong in forests, along with background sounds. Some of the participants listened to recordings from local forests in Germany and Poland, while others listened to recordings from tropical forests in Panama. Each participant listened to a version with high biological diversity and another with low diversity.
Participants listened to two sound recordings, reporting on their psychological state, stress level, and concentration ability before and after listening. They also estimated the number of animal species they could hear, and rated how much they enjoyed the sounds and their familiarity.
A press release from the center stated that listening to the sounds of the forests for one minute through headphones led to an improvement in overall feeling, where participants reported more positive feelings, better focus, and a decline in stress levels. The most positive results were associated with familiar sounds from local forests.
While high biodiversity did not improve feelings for some participants, subjective perception played a significant role; people felt better when they believed they were hearing a larger number of species. Conversely, sounds that seemed complex without a clear connection to animals reduced positive feelings.
Aleta Bonn, a contributor to the study and head of the research group at the Helmholtz Center and the German Center for Biodiversity Research and University of Jena, said: "Our results show that the number of species is not the only important factor... sounds that remind people of familiar forests, like the sounds of birds near their homes, appear to be significantly more impactful."
