New research provides scientific support that nature sounds — such as the gentle burbling of a brook, or the sound of the wind in the trees — can change our body physiology, helping us relax.
Investigators at Brighton and Sussex Medical School found that ‘natural sounds’ affected the bodily systems that control the flight-or-fright and rest-digest autonomic nervous systems. They discovered the nature sounds enabled resting activity of the brain.
While naturalistic sounds and ‘green’ environments have frequently been linked with promoting relaxation and wellbeing, until now there has been no scientific consensus as to how these effects come about.
“We are all familiar with the feeling of relaxation and ‘switching-off’ which comes from a walk in the countryside, and now we have evidence from the brain and the body which helps us understand this effect,” said lead author, Dr Cassandra Gould van Praag, explaining the study’s findings.
“This has been an exciting collaboration between artists and scientists, and it has produced results which may have a real-world impact, particularly for people who are experiencing high levels of stress.”
The innovative study placed medical school researchers with audio-visual artist Mark Ware. They created an experiment where participants listened to sounds recorded from natural and artificial environments, while their brain activity was measured in an MRI scanner, and their autonomic nervous system activity was monitored via minute changes in heart rate.
The team found that activity in the default mode network of the brain (a collection of areas which are active when we are resting) was different depending on the sounds playing in the background.
For example, when listening to natural sounds, the brain connectivity reflected an outward-directed focus of attention. However, when listening to artificial sounds, the brain connectivity reflected an inward-directed focus of attention, similar to states observed in anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and depression.
There was also an increase in rest-digest nervous system activity (associated with relaxation of the body) when listening to natural compared with artificial sounds, and better performance in an external attentional monitoring task.
Interestingly, the amount of change in nervous system activity was dependent on the participants’ baseline state. That is, individuals who showed evidence of the greatest stress before starting the experiment showed the greatest bodily relaxation when listening to natural sounds.
Those who were already relaxed in the brain scanner environment showed a slight increase in stress when listening to natural compared with artificial sounds.
The study of environmental exposure effects is of growing interest in physical and mental health settings, and greatly influences issues of public health and town planning. This research is thought to be the first to present an integrated behavioral, physiological and brain exploration of this topic.
The study appears in Scientific Reports.
Source: University of Sussex/EurekAlert
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March 31, 2017 at 01:26AM
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