IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v16y2019i8p1390-d223780.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sounds of Nature in the City: No Evidence of Bird Song Improving Stress Recovery

Author

Listed:
  • Marcus Hedblom

    (Department of Forest Resource Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 901 83 Umeå, Sweden
    Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 750 07 Uppsala, Sweden)

  • Bengt Gunnarsson

    (Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, 405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden)

  • Martin Schaefer

    (Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden)

  • Igor Knez

    (Department of Social Work and Psychology, University of Gävle, 801 76 Gävle, Sweden)

  • Pontus Thorsson

    (Division of Applied Acoustics, Chalmers University of Technology, 412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden)

  • Johan N. Lundström

    (Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden
    Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA 19104-3308, USA
    Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 191 04, USA
    Stockholm University Brain Imaging Centre, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden)

Abstract

Noise from city traffic is one of the most significant environmental stressors. Natural soundscapes, such as bird songs, have been suggested to potentially mitigate or mask noise. All previous studies on masking noise use self-evaluation data rather than physiological data. In this study, while respondents ( n = 117) watched a 360° virtual reality (VR) photograph of a park, they were exposed to different soundscapes and mild electrical shocks. The soundscapes—“bird song”, “bird song and traffic noise”, and “traffic noise”—were played during a 10 min recovery period while their skin conductance levels were assessed as a measure of arousal/stress. No significant difference in stress recovery was found between the soundscapes although a tendency for less stress in “bird song” and more stress in “traffic noise” was noted. All three soundscapes, however, significantly reduced stress. This result could be attributed to the stress-reducing effect of the visual VR environment, to the noise levels being higher than 47 dBA (a level known to make masking ineffective), or to the respondents finding bird songs stressful. Reduction of stress in cities using masking with natural sounds requires further studies with not only larger samples but also sufficient methods to detect potential sex differences.

Suggested Citation

  • Marcus Hedblom & Bengt Gunnarsson & Martin Schaefer & Igor Knez & Pontus Thorsson & Johan N. Lundström, 2019. "Sounds of Nature in the City: No Evidence of Bird Song Improving Stress Recovery," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-12, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:8:p:1390-:d:223780
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/8/1390/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/8/1390/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Louis-François Tétreault & Stéphane Perron & Audrey Smargiassi, 2013. "Cardiovascular health, traffic-related air pollution and noise: are associations mutually confounded? A systematic review," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 58(5), pages 649-666, October.
    2. Tobia Lakes & Maria Br�ckner & Alexander Kr�mer, 2014. "Development of an environmental justice index to determine socio-economic disparities of noise pollution and green space in residential areas in Berlin," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(4), pages 538-556, April.
    3. Francesco Aletta & Jian Kang, 2018. "Towards an Urban Vibrancy Model: A Soundscape Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-18, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Francesco Aletta & Jian Kang, 2019. "Promoting Healthy and Supportive Acoustic Environments: Going beyond the Quietness," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(24), pages 1-4, December.
    2. Shilun Zhang & Xiaolong Zhao & Zixi Zeng & Xuan Qiu, 2019. "The Influence of Audio-Visual Interactions on Psychological Responses of Young People in Urban Green Areas: A Case Study in Two Parks in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-14, May.
    3. Yasushi Suko & Tomoharu Shindo & Kaoru Saito & Norimasa Takayama & Shin’ichi Warisawa & Tetsuya Sakuma & Masaaki Ito & Pasi Kytölä & Tapio Nummi & Kalevi Korpela, 2022. "Alleviating Surgeons’ Stress through Listening to Natural Sounds in a Half-Encapsulated Rest Space after an Operation: A Pilot, Longitudinal Field Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-17, October.
    4. Angel M. Dzhambov & Peter Lercher & Drozdstoy Stoyanov & Nadezhda Petrova & Stoyan Novakov & Donka D. Dimitrova, 2021. "University Students’ Self-Rated Health in Relation to Perceived Acoustic Environment during the COVID-19 Home Quarantine," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-21, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bolte, Gabriele, 2018. "Epidemiologische Methoden und Erkenntnisse als eine Grundlage für Stadtplanung und gesundheitsfördernde Stadtentwicklung," Forschungsberichte der ARL: Aufsätze, in: Baumgart, Sabine & Köckler, Heike & Ritzinger, Anne & Rüdiger, Andrea (ed.), Planung für gesundheitsfördernde Städte, volume 8, pages 118-134, ARL – Akademie für Raumentwicklung in der Leibniz-Gemeinschaft.
    2. Ikenna C. Eze & Medea Imboden & Maria Foraster & Emmanuel Schaffner & Ashish Kumar & Danielle Vienneau & Harris Héritier & Franziska Rudzik & Laurie Thiesse & Reto Pieren & Arnold Von Eckardstein & Ch, 2017. "Exposure to Night-Time Traffic Noise, Melatonin-Regulating Gene Variants and Change in Glycemia in Adults," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-18, December.
    3. Daniel Steele & Edda Bild & Cynthia Tarlao & Catherine Guastavino, 2019. "Soundtracking the Public Space: Outcomes of the Musikiosk Soundscape Intervention," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-38, May.
    4. Francesco Aletta & Jian Kang, 2019. "Promoting Healthy and Supportive Acoustic Environments: Going beyond the Quietness," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(24), pages 1-4, December.
    5. Owen Douglas & Enda Murphy, 2020. "Assessing the Treatment of Potential Effect Modifiers Informing World Health Organisation Guidelines for Environmental Noise," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(1), pages 1-17, January.
    6. Luc Dekoninck & Dick Botteldooren & Luc Int Panis, 2017. "Extending Participatory Sensing to Personal Exposure Using Microscopic Land Use Regression Models," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-17, May.
    7. Shan Shu & Hui Ma, 2019. "Restorative Effects of Classroom Soundscapes on Children’s Cognitive Performance," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-15, January.
    8. Rehana Shrestha & Johannes Flacke & Javier Martinez & Martin Van Maarseveen, 2016. "Environmental Health Related Socio-Spatial Inequalities: Identifying “Hotspots” of Environmental Burdens and Social Vulnerability," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-23, July.
    9. Enembe O. Okokon & Tarja Yli-Tuomi & Taina Siponen & Pekka Tiittanen & Anu W. Turunen & Leena Kangas & Ari Karppinen & Jaakko Kukkonen & Timo Lanki, 2021. "Heterogeneous Urban Exposures and Prevalent Hypertension in the Helsinki Capital Region, Finland," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-14, January.
    10. Yuan Lai & Jiatong Li & Jiachen Zhang & Lan Yan & Yifeng Liu, 2022. "Do Vibrant Places Promote Active Living? Analyzing Local Vibrancy, Running Activity, and Real Estate Prices in Beijing," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(24), pages 1-19, December.
    11. Karmele Herranz-Pascual & Itziar Aspuru & Ioseba Iraurgi & Álvaro Santander & Jose Luis Eguiguren & Igone García, 2019. "Going beyond Quietness: Determining the Emotionally Restorative Effect of Acoustic Environments in Urban Open Public Spaces," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-20, April.
    12. Stephen A. Stansfeld, 2015. "Noise Effects on Health in the Context of Air Pollution Exposure," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-26, October.
    13. Kwan, Soo Chen & Ismail, Rohaida & Ismail, Nor Halizam & Mohamed, Norlen, 2021. "An ecological study of the relationship between urban built environment and cardiovascular hospital admissions (2004–2016) in an Asian developing country," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 276(C).
    14. Olivier Chanel & Laura Perez & Nino Künzli & Sylvia Medina, 2016. "The hidden economic burden of air pollution-related morbidity: evidence from the Aphekom project," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 17(9), pages 1101-1115, December.
    15. Sida Zhuang & Gabriele Bolte & Tobia Lakes, 2022. "Exploring Environmental Health Inequalities: A Scientometric Analysis of Global Research Trends (1970–2020)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-25, June.
    16. Elise Van Kempen & Maribel Casas & Göran Pershagen & Maria Foraster, 2018. "WHO Environmental Noise Guidelines for the European Region: A Systematic Review on Environmental Noise and Cardiovascular and Metabolic Effects: A Summary," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-59, February.
    17. Walter Dachaga & Walter Timo de Vries, 2022. "Integrating Urban Land Tenure Security in Health Determinants: The Design of Indicators for Measuring Land Tenure Security and Health Relationships in Developing Country Contexts," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-28, March.
    18. Fan Pu & Weiran Chen & Chenxi Li & Jingqiao Fu & Weijing Gao & Chao Ma & Xingqi Cao & Lingzhi Zhang & Meng Hao & Jin Zhou & Rong Huang & Yanan Ma & Kejia Hu & Zuyun Liu, 2024. "Heterogeneous associations of multiplexed environmental factors and multidimensional aging metrics," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-11, December.
    19. Maria Foraster, 2013. "Is it traffic-related air pollution or road traffic noise, or both? Key questions not yet settled!," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 58(5), pages 647-648, October.
    20. Lindgren, Samuel, 2021. "A sound environment: health effects of traffic noise mitigation," Working Papers 2021:10, Swedish National Road & Transport Research Institute (VTI).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:8:p:1390-:d:223780. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.