Nature Sounds and Health

Zhu and teammates found that “Listening to natural sounds, both live and recorded, in either a natural or built environment is considered natural sound exposure (NSE). . . . Fifteen studies . . . were selected for [a] meta-analysis. . . . results indicate that NSE has certain positive effects: (a) In terms of emotional changes, NSE significantly reduces anxiety. . . . (b) In terms of physiological reaction, NSE resulted in reduced heart rate (HR) . . . systolic blood pressure . . . diastolic blood pressure . . . and respiratory rate. . . . (c) While the potential for restoration of cognitive performance by NSE was found, no consistent conclusions have been reached yet.”
Ruirui Zhu, Liyun Yuan, Yanting Pan, Yefan Wang, Danping Xiu, and Weiyi Liu. 2024. “Effects of Natural Sound Exposure on Health Recovery: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Science of The Total Environment, vol. 921, 171052, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171052