Research Spotlight · Recover
Sounds of nature
Unhurried sound for after the hard part: water, wind and open air, with nothing to keep up with.
What the studies found
Early- A 2021 review in PNAS (36 publications, 18 pooled) linked natural sounds such as water and birdsong with lower stress and annoyance, and with better mood.[1]
- After a stressful arithmetic task, 40 people tended to settle faster, measured by skin conductance, while listening to nature sounds than to traffic noise.[2]
- Short nature soundscapes improved attention scores compared with city sounds.[3]
Who took part
Healthy adults in short lab sessions, and visitors in park field studies.
Funding
The PNAS authors declared no competing interests.[1]
References
- Buxton RT, Pearson AL, Allou C, Fristrup K, Wittemyer G. A synthesis of health benefits of natural sounds and their distribution in national parks. PNAS. 2021;118(14):e2013097118. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33753555/ · 36 publications, 18 pooled.
- Alvarsson JJ, Wiens S, Nilsson ME. Stress recovery during exposure to nature sound and environmental noise. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2010;7(3):1036-46. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20617017/ · n = 40.
- Van Hedger SC, Nusbaum HC, Clohisy L, et al. Of cricket chirps and car horns: the effect of nature sounds on cognitive performance. Psychon Bull Rev. 2019;26(2):522-530. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30367351/ · Lab study.
Research summaries are for interest only. ARK Sounds is music for enjoyment, not a treatment. These studies are about kinds of sound in general; none of them tested ARK tracks.