The Power of Natural Sounds

While the sound of water can be relaxing, what about other sounds of nature?

Sounds like singing birds, chirping crickets, rain drops and crashing waves.

Stress response theory which proposes that chronic stress results in our fight or flight system (sympathetic nervous system) being activated resulting is several health problems.[i]

Natural sounds have been found to result in a shift toward the rest and digest system (our rest and digest system).[ii] SRT proposes this is because we have evolved in natural environments.[iii]

However, in our city lives we are surrounded by

• phones,

• planes,

• traffic noise and

• building works.

This can result in

• annoyance,

• changes in social behaviour,

• difficulty thinking and

• sleep disturbances.[iv]

So what can we do about it?

As you can imagine, biophilia has a few suggestion on how to deal with the issues of city noise.

This first suggests is to encourage more green spaces in our cities such as

• National parks,

• Conservation areas,

• Wildlife sanctuaries, and

• Urban farms.

Closer to home, we can change our houses and workplaces.

At home we can use,

• Quieter appliances,

• Sound insulation, and

• Double glazing.

At the office we can,

Create a balance between open office areas and refuge areas for quiet work.

We can also introduce natural sounds by

• Using water features for the sound of water and to attract wildlife such as birds and insects,

• Allowing breezes to flow though creating the rustling of leaves.

Lastly, we can reduce our individual exposure by

• Tuning off our tech,

• Using ear-plugs/noise-cancelling headphones,

• Going to quiet places like parks.

 Conclusion

Living in the city can have us surround by constant noise which can affect our health. By creating quiet spaces, introducing natural sounds and turning off our tech, we can help to reduce these adverse affects and feel less stressed.

[i] Van Praag, C. D. G., Garfinkel, S. N., Sparasci, O., Mees, A., Philippides, A. O., Ware, M., ... & Critchley, H. D. (2017). Mind-wandering and alterations to default mode network connectivity when listening to naturalistic versus artificial sounds. Scientific reports, 7(1), 1-12.

[ii] Van Praag et al. (2017)

[iii] Van Praag et al. (2017)

[iv] Stansfeld, S. A., & Matheson, M. P. (2003). Noise pollution: non-auditory effects on health. British medical bulletin, 68(1), 243-257.

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