Listening to birdsongs reduces stress and anxiety, according to a new study

Do you love listening to the chirping of birds and find it soothing? Well, you should do that more often now. According to a new study published in the Nature portfolio journal Scientific Reports, listening to bird songs can help reduce stress and anxiety in humans.

A team of researchers from Germany did an evaluation of the effects of urban traffic noise versus natural birdsong on participants' cognitive and emotional functions.

The researchers conducted an online experiment where 295 participants were randomly allotted to one of the four treatments, for 6 minutes: birdsong low, birdsong high, traffic noise low and traffic noise high variety soundscapes.

After this, the participants also completed a few tasks that included answering sadness, anxiety and paranoid questionnaires.

Later, it was observed that birdsongs had a positive impact on feelings of paranoia. However, it did not have any effect on cognitive performance. Study authors also believed that birdsongs could also be applied to prevent mental disorders.

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