How does sound affect our mental health and wellness? There is a surprising amount of information on this topic, much of it not widely known. We will cover two impacts, one negative and one positive. Spoiler alert: it’s spring and the songbirds are singing!
Intuitively, we all probably understand that “natural sounds” (birds chirping, leaves rustling in the breeze, running water in a creek) make us feel calmer and happier, while “industrial” sounds (the drone of traffic, HVAC’s, sirens, leaf blowers) do not. Many people listen to nature sounds—ocean waves, rain, forest sounds—to help them relax and fall asleep. There is, in fact, a growing body of evidence to back up what we already guess to be true.
Anthropogenic (man-made) noise pollution is an insidious health threat that gets very little attention despite a wealth of evidence of the harmful effects. It is bad for both our physical and mental health. Our environment is continually getting louder; we are not even aware of the relentless background noise to which we are exposed much of the time. This ambient anthropogenic noise is form of chronic stress. And we know that chronic stress can be toxic.
A previous Gazette column (“Dark Skies, Better Health,” December 2025) discussed the harms of light pollution, along with the benefits of being more in synch with natural light/dark cycles. The same is true of noise pollution (unhealthy) vs. the positive effects of exposure to natural sounds (such as water and bird song).
The current situation is problematic. We live in an ever-louder world. And natural soundscapes are threatened by the intrusion of anthropogenic noise as well as by a significant decline in North American bird populations. This striking decrease in bird numbers is driven by factors such as habitat loss, pesticide use, and climate change.
Health Benefits of Nature Sounds:
Hearing natural sounds can improve mood, lower stress, decrease pain, and improve our cognitive performance. Birdsong and water sounds seem to be especially calming, restorative and mood lifting. One study even showed decreased feelings of “annoyance” when hearing nature sounds! Studies showing that nature sounds can reduce post-operative pain levels are interesting, with very practical implications.
A 2018 study titled “Of Cricket Chirps and Car Horns: the Effect of Nature Sounds on Cognitive Performance” randomly assigned participants to either listen to natural sounds (e.g. bird song, wind, moving water) or urban sounds (such as machinery, traffic sounds). Before and after the sound exposure, they were given a task measuring focused attention. The people in the nature sounds group showed a significant improvement in their cognitive performance after the sound exposure (versus those in the urban sounds group, whose performance did not improve).
There are a couple of theories about how nature sounds enhance human health and wellbeing:
Stress Reduction Theory: Exposure to nature reduces physiologic and psychological stress by activating the parasympathetic nervous system (our “rest and digest” system) and tamping down our sympathetic nervous system (“fight or flight”). This shift lowers stress hormones, blood pressure, heart rate, anxiety and stress levels.
Attention Restoration Theory (ART): Nature exposure replenishes our focus and attention, as the sensory inputs are softer and less taxing on our brains. While our minds remain active, our attention is less effortful and involves more reflection and mind wandering. We feel calmer, more relaxed. Through this process, our brains and minds can “recharge.” This contrasts with the more demanding input and “hard” sensory stimulation from urban environments, which require more effortful, directed attention. Those sounds tend to be sharper and louder; we need to be more vigilant (to avoid being hit by a car, for example). The experience is cognitively and emotionally draining.
Health Risks from Noise Pollution:
Chronic exposure to anthropogenic noise (such as industrial machines, construction noise, generators, and “planes, trains and automobiles”) is unhealthy. Noise pollution is associated with heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, hearing loss, sleep disturbance (and all the downstream problems associated with that), and lower cognitive functioning in children.
In children, studies show that chronic exposure to noise pollution (such as traffic sounds) is associated with hyperactivity and attentional problems. Impacts are broad and include disruptions in learning and memory, and lower academic performance. Also, children exposed to more sound pollution experience higher levels of stress, irritability, fatigue and anxiety. These findings have implications for the location of schools and residential neighborhoods.
One surprising and alarming finding involves nighttime noise. In addition to sleep disruption (fragmentation and decreased overall sleep time), there are health impacts even if you don’t wake up! Our bodies still react with a physiological stress response (including release of stress hormones), increasing the risk for stress-related metabolic disorders such as diabetes, obesity, and heart disease.
Some Practical Implications
Reducing noise pollution and protecting natural soundscapes have wide-ranging health benefits.
Considerations include:
Children and learning: consider impacts of ambient sound pollution in residential neighborhoods and where schools are located
Data centers are loud. Their servers, back-up generators, and cooling systems create significant background noise affecting surrounding neighborhoods. Neighbors have reported “eerie hums” and “high-pitched whines” in addition to the continuous mechanical drone.
There are significant disparities related to socioeconomic status. Noise pollution disproportionately affects lower income and non-white people. Industrial development, highways, and airports tend to be built in neighborhoods with less wealth and political power.
Protecting natural spaces can support songbird populations and provide access to natural sounds
Noisy roads and highways are a major contributor to ambient noise levels throughout the nation (including urban, suburban and rural communities). The shift to electric vehicles could have a significant impact on our health and wellness.
Gas-powered tools such as leaf blowers are very loud. It’s worth thinking about the impact on our communities and the risk/benefit ratio.
Feeling frazzled, down, irritable, anxious?
Rx: A walk on a nature trail near a creek
Refills: infinite
Cost: free!
Shout out: Crozet Trails Crew!