Natural high: why birdsong is the best antidote to our stressful lives
It’s International Dawn Chorus day on Sunday 6 May, and this year
the RSPB has released a single of birdsong (currentlyat number 11 in the charts) as
part of a campaign to draw attention to the dire situation facing British
birdlife. Populations of once-common species such as the house sparrow,
starling and swift are falling fast, while the nightingale, turtle dove and
grey partridge are rapidly sliding towards extinction in Britain.
Climate change,
intensive farming and pollution are just some of the genuinely existential
threats to the future of our birds. And, indeed, to us. Having been a
naturalist since before I can remember – more than half a century now – I’m
always astonished that so many people fail to make the connection between
birds’ wellbeing and our own.
Spending time
connecting with the natural world is the perfect antidote to the pressures of
modern life. Getting close to nature – and especially listening to birdsong – doesn’t
just bring us physical benefits – it also helps improve our mental and
emotional health, happiness and wellbeing. And this isn’t just some warm, fuzzy
feeling.
Scientists at the
University of Surrey have been studying the “restorative benefits of birdsong”,
testing whether it really does improve our mood. They discovered that, of all
the natural sounds, bird songs and calls were those most often cited as helping
people recover from stress, and allowing them to restore and refocus their
attention. In other words,
birdsong is good for you – something that will hardly come as a surprise to
those who tune in to Radio 4 six mornings a week to catch its 90-second Tweet
of the Day... read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/04/birdsong-antidote-to-stressful-lives-dawn-chorus-day