Blackbird Singing in the Spring Sunlight: How Birdsong Recordings Can Ground Us in Hard Moments

Dr Hannah Ryan, Clinical Psychologist and Director of Two Leaves Therapy

Picture this: you are lying in the grass on a spring day, the gentle rays of the afternoon sun warming your face. The air is filled with the soothing sounds of blackbirds chirping and lambs murmuring in the distance. You watch the clouds float by and feel your breathing slow in sync with the branches of nearby oaks. You feel relaxed yet awake. You sigh and notice a smile spread across your face as you feel a surge of well-being pass through your body. In such a rare but gorgeous moment, you will likely feel a sense of pleasure, peace, contentment and joy, a feeling that, for now, all is well with the world, and things might actually work out okay. 

Now, take a minute of your day to travel without leaving your seat by clicking this link, closing your eyes and listening. Tell me you did not feel briefly transported to the idealised image we painted in words, and I will tell you that you must be lying. 

I first discovered I loved listening to birdsong recordings during my doctorate training when things occasionally became stressful. Okay, they were always pretty stressful. While I had the privilege of being taught about breathing exercises, cognitive thought manipulations, mindfulness and other sophisticated skills, one day, while thesis writing, I searched for nature sounds while yearning to be outside. I noticed an instant shift in my body and felt I had stumbled upon a discovery. Not only did listening to birdsong have an immediately calming effect, it also brought me a glimmer of joy. I felt more grounded, dreamy and hopeful, and as though I was connected to nature even though I had not left my house. 

You can imagine my nerdy excitement when I discovered that this experience may not merely be a product of the pleasing melody but could potentially be rooted in our ancestral legacy. Evolutionary and ecological psychologists point out that for the greater proportion of our species' history, humans evolved as part of nature rather than being artificially separated from it. Our ancestors relied on the natural world for survival, so we are hardwired to attune to environmental cues to decide whether we are safe or under threat. 

This also dovetails with my vestibular condition and may be helpful for others with long-term health problems as well as other challenges. Due to a vestibular and balance problem (something is wired dodgily in a particular part of my brain), I feel the ground underneath me is moving about 60% of the time. Initially, I felt ashamed when I felt anxious about this. After all, I logically know I am safe at home. More importantly, I'm a psychologist! I should be able to bat those anxieties away with rational thinking. I was shocked to learn from my neurologist that the majority of people with this condition develop a diagnosable anxiety disorder within 1-2 years of their health diagnosis. However, fascinatingly, this may also have its roots in the evolution of the human brain. 

He told me that we evolved to tune into the world around us to decide if we were safe or at risk of death. Feeling the ground or a tree we are resting on move beneath us could be a sign of a stampede, an earthquake, a fast-approaching predator, or an imminent loss of balance, causing a fatal fall from a high place. Thus, when our old brain detects a rocking movement without a clear explanation, it tells us through bodily signals: "Be anxious! Risk of death! Do something to prevent it!" The old part of the brain is not well-linked with our evolutionarily newer brain. Therefore, the new part that is the seat of logic and rational thinking does not wire up well or convince it that we are safe. However, I learned that if I played birdsong while enduring a particularly violent bout of rocking, it goes straight to that animal brain. I could still feel ongoing movement underneath me, but with it came a blissful sense of calm. I could take advantage of this to link up with my new brain and embed some healthy cognitive appraisals: "I am safe, even when I do not feel safe", “I am sturdy, even when I am rocking”.

However, nature sounds can help many feel safer and more grounded, not just those of us with chronically wobbly brains. In support of this, several scientific studies have provided compelling evidence for the therapeutic effects of birdsong on mood, anxiety, well-being, motivation and even physiology. For example, a study by Cox et al. (2017) discovered that exposure to birdsong can reduce anxiety and uplift mood and reduce autonomic arousal, unlike the effects of urban noise pollution. Similarly, Ratcliffe et al. (2013) demonstrated that natural sounds, including birdsong, have a remarkable ability to aid stress recovery following a stressful mental arithmetic task, and that this is reflected in physiological markers as well as participants’ self-reports . 

But while it makes sense that birdsong can calm us, why might it enhance our attention? While evidence for nature sounds enhancing attention are weaker than evidence for the effects on mood and stress, our evolutionary and ecological colleagues would point out that we used to be attuned to nature, and blackbirds were spring's alarm clock. That dawn chorus may signal to the brain that it is time to wake up, be alert and set off on an exciting day of gathering berries and hunting boars. 

Of course, the ideal would be to get out in actual nature and spend more time soaking the sun on our cheeks, birdsong through our ears and grass on our feet. These studies should never be weaponised by proponents of capitalistic restrictions who would have us divorce ourselves from the natural world so we can sit for longer hours in front of screens, tricking our brains into thinking we are out hiking when we are actually eating our breakfast with Zoom and lunch with Excel. To be clear, we also need to be outside, which is a need, not a want. 

However, there are plenty of times when going out and listening to birdsong is either not practical, not accessible or represents a privilege that is not afforded to us. This could be for many reasons, ranging from living in busy urban spaces, having long working hours, living with disabling chronic health conditions, or being exposed to unseasonable weather. 

When we cannot get our natural dose of birdsong, when might recordings be particularly useful? Here are four suggested scenarios where harnessing the healing power of natural soundscapes could potentially bring us back to ourselves:

1. Waking from Early Morning Fatigue: For individuals grappling with chronic health conditions, mental health challenges, work or school-related anxiety, or menopausal symptoms, waking up to the gentle melody of birdsong could be an alternative to cortisol-spiking activities such as hitting the snooze button while berating ourselves, or scrolling on Instagram. While more research is needed on these specific demographics and contexts, and research has been more mixed on the cognitive rather than mood effects, it has been shown to increase alertness without increasing anxiety in many people, which makes it somewhat ideal for morning waking. 

2. Regulating the Autonomic Nervous System before or after Stressful Events: Whether facing a daunting hospital appointment, an exam, a date, a hostile business meeting or a nerve-wracking presentation, the calming effect of birdsong may help regulate the autonomic nervous system and induce a state of mental and physical relaxation, which can allow us to assess the truthfulness of our scariest thoughts more rationally. Mindfulness is wonderful but it’s not for everyone in all situations. By reconnecting to nature, which is relatively less effortful, more pleasurable and less introspective than traditional guided mindfulness exercises, we can approach stressful situations with slightly greater composure and clarity of mind. Nature sounds including birdsong, wind and water have also been found to improve recovery time following stressful events, bringing us back into ourselves after our adrenalin has spiked.

3. Enhancing Joy and Well-being: Sometimes, amidst the hustle and bustle of daily life, we forget to pause and savour the simple pleasures. Incorporating moments of birdsong into our routines and stopping to pay attention and notice it mindfully can serve as a potent reminder to slow down, look up, appreciate the beauty of the natural world, and cultivate a sense of gratitude and joy. Spring is the ideal time for this, as it is much harder in winter when you are being pelted with wind and rain (although that may still intermittently be the case).

4) Restoring focus and motivation during work or study breaks: Finally, for those grappling with conditions such as ADHD, brain fog related to chronic illnesses, menopausal symptoms, workplace burnout, or Bad Job Syndrome (not a diagnosis), birdsong can potentially act as a tool for enhancing energy and motivation during breaks between tasks. At least one well designed study found that nature sounds have a restorative effect on energy, mood and motivation in an office setting, relative to silence or office sounds. Although, of course, we must remember that staying motivated or focused all the time is unrealistic.

In summary, while I may be a particular enthusiast and more research is needed, budding evidence suggests that the therapeutic benefits of songbirds’ music may not be limited to a specific group or condition. Instead, the effects may be universal because they connect us with our common humanity and innate entanglement with the natural world. In other words, birdsong and nature sounds may tap into our evolutionary heritage and offer a moment of respite from our stressful lives, reminding us that sometimes nature’s medicine can be imbibed through the ears rather than the mouth, and that the simplest pleasures are very often the sweetest. 

For my favourite recording of birdsong on YouTube, click here. 

Sources, references and links: a sample of interesting studies

Effects of Nature Sounds on the Attention and Physiological and Psychological Relaxation. Found that birdsong with water for five minutes did not subsequently enhance task performance relative to a control group who were exposed to traffic sounds, but those who listened to the nature sounds showed a significant improvement in subjective and objective (physiological) markers of mood and anxiety, Effects of nature sounds on the attention and physiological and psychological relaxation - ScienceDirect

Stress Recovery During Exposure to Nature Sound and Environmental Noise. This study exposed participants to a stressful mental arithmetic task which increased their skin conductance level, as well as their subjective stress levels. They then exposed four groups to four sound conditions: nature sounds, high noise, low noise and ambient sounds. They found that recovery, or emotional regulation back down to baseline, on both objective physical measures and self-reported measures, was quickest in the group who was subsequently exposed to nature sounds. IJERPH | Free Full-Text | Stress Recovery during Exposure to Nature Sound and Environmental Noise (mdpi.com)

The Efficacy of a Brief Nature Sound Intervention on Muscle Tension, Pulse Rate and Self-reported Stress. Perhaps most impressively, this did not put nature sounds to the test against aversive sounds but against neutral sounds as well as soundscapes that are pleasant and evidenced as having a restorative impact on stress and mood: classical music (the Mozart effect). In this study, the researchers nonetheless found that natural soundscapes provided a superior condition for recovery from a stressful event, based on both self-reported and physiological measures (pulse rate and muscle tension). The Efficacy of a Brief Nature Sound Intervention on Muscle Tension, Pulse Rate, and Self-Reported Stress: Nature Contact Micro-Break in an Office or Waiting Room - Erin Largo-Wight, Brian K. O’Hara, W. William Chen, 2016 (sagepub.com)

Listening to Forests: Comparing the Perceived Restorative Characteristics of Natural Soundscapes before and after the Covid-19 Pandemic. This study found that exposure to forest sounds was calming among those who had elevated stress levels after the pandemic, although it rightly highlights the need for research exploring the impact of soundscapes on mood and anxiety levels over time. Sustainability | Free Full-Text | Listening to Forests: Comparing the Perceived Restorative Characteristics of Natural Soundscapes before and after the COVID-19 Pandemic (mdpi.com)

Open-plan office noise: cognitive performance and restoration. In an office, those who listened to a natural river sound reported more energy, better mood and more motivation to work compared to those exposed to silence or the sounds of an office. Open-plan office noise: Cognitive performance and restoration - ScienceDirect