In three-year, regularly-timed research, British scientists for the first time demonstrated a direct link between birds and positive mood using an app that collected information about participants’ moods.
Scientists from Great Britain urge us to spend time with birds as much as possible, since watching them fly and hearing them sing makes us happier, contributing to the creation of a pleasant mental mood that lasts up to eight hours.
How the study was carried out
To develop the study, researchers from the King’s College They used an app called Urban Mind, through which they collected information on the mood of the participants at regular intervals over a period of three years. The people who participated in the research were asked three times a day where exactly they were, if they saw or heard birds and, most importantly, how they felt.
There is increasing evidence of the positive effects of contact with nature on mental health, and it is believed that the presence of birds and their singing could help improve our mood.
However, very little research has been done on the effect of birds on mental health in real time and in real settings. But using the Urban Mind app, researchers were able to demonstrate for the first time a direct link between seeing and hearing birds and positive mood.
Perhaps this evidence can demonstrate the importance of protecting the environment and providing suitable ecosystems to support birds, not only for biodiversity, but also for our mental health.
Research conclusions
The study, whose conclusions were published in the prestigious scientific journal Scientific Reports, was carried out between April 2018 and October 2021, with the participation of more than 1,200 people (mainly from the US, Great Britain and other European countries). ).
The researchers also collected information on existing diagnoses of mental health conditions, such as depression. Through their findings, they found that hearing and seeing birds had a positive impact on the mental health of people without depression, as well as those with depression. They also point out that this beneficial effect of birds was not due to other environmental factors, such as the presence of trees or bodies of water.
The term ecosystem services is often used to describe the benefits of certain aspects of the natural environment for our physical and mental health. However, it can be difficult to prove these benefits scientifically.
But this new study provides an evidence-based foundation for creating and supporting biodiversity hotspots that host birds, as this is closely linked to our mental health.
In addition, the findings support the implementation of measures to increase the opportunities for people to come into contact with avian fauna, especially for those living with mental illnesses such as depression.