Why "Natural Sounds" Like Birds and Rain Calm Us Down

I recently spent the night in a noisy hotel. And it STRESSED me out. I was exhausted from the flight and the thought of a sleepless night from the raucous noise of my neighbors was causing my heart to race and my blood to boil. I tried a guided meditation but the voices from beyond the walls and the voice from the meditation were conflicting and making me more stressed. Grrrrr!

I remembered hearing in a podcast recently that birds singing have a calming effect on humans due to an evolutionary signal of safety (birds don't hang out and sing when threats to humans are around). I started poking around on Spotify looking for nature sounds and found this lifesaver playlist of rain sounds. I turned it up and let it play all night. And I fell asleep quickly and stayed down all night. I found that the sound covered up the distracting environment, made me feel safe and cozy and also kept my brain from attaching to thoughts that normally keep me up. 

Turns out, it's not just me who finds nature sounds helpful to relax. Researchers at Brighton and Sussex Medical School found that playing "natural sounds" affect the bodily systems that control the flight-or-fright and rest-digest autonomic nervous systems, with associated effects in the resting activity of the brain. While naturalistic sounds and "green environments" have frequently been linked with promoting relaxation and wellbeing, until recently there has been no scientific consensus as to how these effects come about. Here's the study that has been published in Scientific Reports.

For more sleep tips, check out this hour-long recorded Zoom workshop with my colleague Morgan and me for a discussion on the science and strategies behind getting better sleep. In it we talk about the science behind the latest sleep research and review strategies and tips that have helped our clients improve their sleep to become healthier humans and better professionals.