Chirping birds, flowing streams, falling rain are common nature sounds used in white noise machines and meditation apps – they’re calming. An article in Molecular Psychiatry supports this. Walking in nature reduces stress more than walking in cities.
Forest walks and urban walks were conducted in Berlin. A random sample of 63 people took either nature or urban walks. No shopping or checking phones were allowed on the walk. Group members were given bagged lunches and timer phones. Pre- and post-walk fMRI measurements were taken.
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Participants saw 15 female and 15 male faces during the “fearful faces task.” Brain activity was measured during a “Montreal Imaging Stress Task.” Each participant had to solve arithmetic problems in a set amount of time.
A questionnaire and fMRI scan were administered after their walk to measure the same tasks they had performed before.
Nature Significantly Reduced Stress
Levels.
Sonja Sudimac, the study’s lead author, found that brain regions involved in stress processing decreased after just an hour in nature. The amygdala activity of a nature walk group decreased. City walkers did not see this decrease.
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Urban environments are associated with anxiety, depression, and mood disorders. Moreover, urban stressors and crowded conditions result in mental health problems in cities. Researchers were unable to control whom participants saw on the walk due to similar backgrounds and similar backgrounds.
Seeing someone relaxing in the forest on their day off could have further decreased the participants’ stress response. A shorter period may also yield similar benefits. This study focused on a one-hour nature walk. Nature walks are believed to reduce cortisol levels after 15 minutes. Additionally, there’s extensive research on the benefits of the outdoors outside this study.