Neuroscientists at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany have found that bird singing helps fight depression and anxiety. At the same time, traffic noises, on the contrary, are associated with an increase in depression. work of scientists published in Scientific Reports.
The study included 296 people without mental disorders. All volunteers were divided into 4 groups. Firstly, he listened to traffic sounds in a high variety, the second – with a low one. The third listened to various bird sounds, and the third listened to bird songs with low diversity.
All volunteers listened to sounds at 80% volume for six minutes. Before and after the experiment, the participants filled out a questionnaire about their psychological health.
Urban traffic noise was associated with greater feelings of depression, while bird chirping was associated with reduced anxiety and paranoia. At the same time, a high variety of traffic sounds increased the effect. No such relationship was found for bird chirping.
The authors of the work emphasized that singing bird sounds can be used as therapy for anxiety and depressive disorders.