Babbling brooks and falling rain CAN relax us says BSMS
- Natural sounds can change our brain and body systems, helping us to relax
- Researchers measured the brain activity of people listening to natural sounds
- These sounds can increase activity of body systems associated with relaxation
- Natural sounds can also result in better performance in attention-based tasks
- They reduce stress more in people who have have the greatest levels of stress
- The research could help people people who suffer from metal health problems and influence public health and town planning initiatives
Cecile Borkhataria For Dailymail.com
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The sounds of nature: Wind in the trees, the rain falling or even a river flowing, can change our brain and body systems, helping us to relax.
Brain scans revealed that playing natural sounds can also result in better performance in tasks that require monitoring attention.
The research could help people people who suffer from metal health problems and influence public health and town planning initiatives.
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To conduct the study, the researchers, in collaboration with audio visual artist mark Ware, recruited participants to listen to sounds recorded from natural and artificial environments while their bran activity was measured via MRI scans
The researchers, based at Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS), found that playing ‘natural sounds’ affected bodily systems that control the fight-or-flight and rest-digest autonomic nervous systems.
The fight-or-flight response is what happens to the body when it responds to a threat, marked by physical changes that prepare a human or animal to react or retreat, and the rest-digest response is responsible for maintaining balance in the body’s systems, restoring the body to a state of calm.
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The researchers discovered that 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 conditions such as anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder
The lead author of the study, Dr Cassandra Gould van Praag, said: ‘We are all familiar with the feeling of relaxation and “switching-of” 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.
‘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.’
To conduct the study, the researchers, in collaboration with audio visual artist Mark Ware, recruited participants to listen to sounds recorded from natural and artificial environments while their bran activity was measured via MRI scans.
Participants’ autonomic nervous system – the part of the nervous system responsible for the control of bodily functions not consciously directed – was monitored via tiny changes in heart rate.
The researchers discovered that 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 conditions such as anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
There was an increase in activity of the rest-digest nervous system – which is associated with relaxation of the body – when listening to natural versus artificial sounds.
Listening to natural sounds versus artificial ones also resulted in better performance in an external attentional monitoring task.
But the amount of change observed in nervous system activity depended on how stressed the person was to begin with.
Participants who had the greatest levels of stress before starting the experiment showed the greatest bodily relaxation when listening to natural sounds, but those who were already relaxed when they entered the MRI scanner showed a slight increase in stress levels when listening to natural versus artificial sounds.
The research could have an impact on town planning and public health, and the researchers claim this is the first research to present an integrated behavioral, physiological and brain exploration of the topic.
Mark Ware, the artist involved in the study, said: ‘Art-science collaborations can be problematic, often due to a lack of shared knowledge and language (scientific and artistic), but the team at BSMS has generously sought common ground, which has resulted in this exciting and successful outcome.
‘We have plans to continue collaborating and I am keen to explore how the results of this work might be applied to the creation and understanding of time-based art (installations, multimedia performance, and film) for the benefit of people in terms of well being and health.’
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