Woodland Sounds Help Relaxation More Than Meditation Apps

This opposite response to “fight-or-flight” helps the body relax and fall to sleep. Even with access to an endless variety of sleep sounds, relaxing music remains one of the most beloved sounds people like to fall asleep to. Classical music has been shown to promote better sleep in individuals with sleep challenges and decrease depressive symptoms, which may also interfere with quality sleep. Beyond helping you slip into a peaceful doze, white noise can be particularly soothing while working at your dining room table—and when I say “white noise,” I’m using the term loosely.

Many participants also reported decreased pain and improved mood, and they performed better on cognitive tests. Also, we thank numerous park staff and Colorado State University technicians for placing and servicing acoustic recorders and J. Job, C. White, E. Brown, D. Joyce, and Colorado State University/National Park Service acoustical technicians for analyzing acoustic data. But most of the time, in the heart of most deserts, you can hear nothing but the sound of silence. Most deserts are much hotter in daytime than at night.

In addition to being a major motivation for visiting parks , these natural soundscapes represent important resources to be protected and enhanced for both ecological and social benefits . The health benefits of exposure to nature are well documented (for a recent overview, see ref. 9). Here, we define human health broadly, encompassing physiological outcomes (e.g., stress) and potential psychological precursors along the pathway to health outcomes [e.g., preference ]. Two psychological theories explain the mechanistic basis of the restorative effects of exposure to nature , drawing heavily from the theory of evolution . Attention Restoration Theory centers on the ability of nature to replenish attention through unconscious, cognitive processes .

For the review, the researchers looked at 18 studies investigating the health benefits of natural sound; study participants listened to recordings of outdoor sounds in laboratory settings. Participants reported less stress and improved health outcomes, like decreased pain, after listening to recordings of nature sounds. Broad anthropogenic sound categories included aircraft, motorized vehicles, people talking, domestic animals, trains, and infrastructure maintenance (e.g., grounds care). We recognize that visitor conversation, laughter, and ranger interpretive sessions are intrinsic to park values and visitor experience. Yet, voices can also be noise in the context of experiencing natural sounds .

Well, these soothing sounds of nature are made to give you moments of pure relaxation and meditation. Whether these comforting sounds merely block noise pollution or they work deeper to calm the mind and nervous system, research supports the benefits of using sleep sounds for falling asleep and improving sleep quality. So, right from the start it is safe to assume that the brain enjoys the power of relaxation brought by nature sounds no matter if it’s directly exposed to nature or a mere recording of those sounds.

The nervous system prepares to fight or flee a threatening situation by releasing the hormones cortisol, adrenaline, and noradrenaline. These stress hormones make a good night’s sleep very difficult. Historically, soundscapes have been investigated in the context of the deleterious effects of noise . Natural soundscapes play a central role in urban environmental sustainability because they offer reduced exposure to adverse effects of noise to which urban populations are highly Amazing views of our world exposed . Thus, research increasingly focuses on evaluating the characteristics of soundscapes by quantifying their different components to manage soundscapes as a natural resource .