Why Nature Sounds Help You Relax, Scientifically

Spending time in nature and listening to natural soundscapes is increasingly recommended to lower anxiety and stress levels.

In the 1980s we discovered sick patients healed faster when their windows faced nature (green spaces). Since then, science has discovered benefits associated with all five senses in relation to nature. Currently, our sense of hearing and response to natural sounds is cutting-edge research.

Listening to natural soundscapes has been shown to decrease pain and anxiety and even improve post-surgery recovery times¹⁻²⁻³.

In a recent study, nature sounds were found to reduce the body’s sympathetic response (fight-or-flight feeling) and increase the body’s parasympathetic response (natural resting state)⁴.

When you are stressed out, your body activates its sympathetic nervous system (SNS). Living in this state for prolonged periods causes side effects most of us are too familiar with: low energy, headaches, insomnia and decreased libido.

Sympathetic (SNS)	Parasympathetic (PSNS)
Fight or Flight	Rest and Digest
Prepares for Action	Conserves and Restores
Increases Heart Rate	Slows Heart Rate
Increases Respiration Rate	Slows Respiration Rate
Releases Energy	Stores Energy
Slows Digestion	Increases Digestion

In addition to reducing the body’s sympathetic response, participants in the study also had lower heart rates when listening to natural sounds.

Brain scans indicated that listening to artificial sounds promoted internal focus. This is significant because internal focus is often connected to worry and rumination. Ruminating is “chewing-on” the same thing over and over. In humans, we often ruminate on negative events and memories in our lives. These thinking patterns have been linked to anxiety, stress, depression and PTSD.

We can use natural sounds to help get out of our heads! In the same study, natural sounds promoted brain patterns associated with external focus. In fact, listening to natural sounds for just 4 minutes can decrease stress and lower your heart rate⁵.

4minutes

Listening to nature sounds for four minutes can lower stress

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Thanks for reading,
-Jared

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References:

1. Diette, G. B., Lechtzin, N., Haponik, E., Devrotes, A. & Rubin, H. R. Distraction therapy with nature sights and sounds reduces pain during flexible bronchoscopya. Chest123, 941–948 (2003).

2. Bauer, B. A. et al. Effect of the combination of music and nature sounds on pain and anxiety in cardiac surgical patients: a randomized study. Altern. Ther. Health Med.17, 16–23 (2011).

3. Chaing, L.-C. The effects of music and nature sounds on cancer pain and anxiety in hospice cancer patients (Doctoral Thesis) (Case Western Reserve University, 2012).

4. Gould van Praag, C. D., Garfinkel, S. N., Sparasci, O., Mees, A., Philippides, A. O., Ware, M., Ottaviani, C., & Critchley, H. D. (2017). Mind-wandering and alterations to default mode network connectivity when listening to naturalistic versus artificial sounds. Scientific Reports, 7(1).

5. Alvarsson, J. J., Wiens, S., & Nilsson, M. E. (2010). Stress Recovery during Exposure to Nature Sound and Environmental Noise. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 7(3), 1036–1046.