London, Sept. 29 (SANA) Natural sounds can help reduce stress and anxiety and improve mood, while traffic noise can diminish those benefits, particularly at higher vehicle speeds, according to a study published in the journal PLOS ONE.
The study, published in November 2024, was conducted by researchers Lia Gilmour, Isabelle Bray, Chris Alford and Paul Lintott. The research involved 68 student volunteers who listened to three three-minute soundscapes.
One recording featured a natural soundscape, including birdsong, captured at sunrise in West Sussex, England. Researchers combined the same natural soundscape with traffic noise recorded from roads with speed limits of 20 mph (32 km/h) and 40 mph (64 km/h).
Participants assessed their stress, anxiety and mood before and after listening to the soundscapes.
The results showed that the natural soundscape alone was associated with the lowest levels of stress and anxiety and helped participants recover their mood after exposure to a stressor.
However, those benefits diminished when traffic noise was added. Participants reported the highest levels of stress and anxiety after listening to the natural soundscape combined with traffic noise from a road with a 40-mph speed limit.
The researchers concluded that reducing traffic speeds in urban areas could provide health and well-being benefits beyond road safety by reducing noise pollution and allowing more people to experience the positive effects of natural soundscapes.
T.S /R.K
