Listen to Nature Sounds to Relax Your Mind

How to know if you are stressed | How nature sounds relax the mind | Using nature sound for therapeutic purposes | Further scientific findings

In this busy world, finding a moment to relax is not easy, and it often leads to mental stress. If you are someone who suffers from stress, it is vital to find effective ways to combat it. Stress can lead to a variety of health conditions including tensed muscles, faster breaths, a racing heart, headaches, depression, heartburn, insomnia, rapid breathing, a weak immune system, high blood sugar, a higher risk of a heart attack, a pounding heart, high blood pressure, fertility issues, stomach pain, tensed muscles, and more.

How to know if you are stressed

Stress can be emotional or mental; it is a result of difficulties in your life. There are multiple ways to determine if you are suffering from actual stress.

Headaches – It has been found that headaches are one of the most common results of excessive stress. The higher your stress, the greater number of headaches you will possibly experience in a month. Untreated stress results in chronic headaches, signaling that it is time to relax your mind.
Pain – Stress is known to cause and increase pain. Studies have shown that stress hormones can cause chronic pain, especially in patients who are already suffering from aches.
Recurrent sickness – If you fall sick often, it can be a result of stress. It has been noticed that stress has a negative effect on your immune system, making you more prone to illnesses than normal.
Insomnia – Higher level of stress is associated with sleeplessness. If you work in a stressful environment, that can lead to insomnia. This lack of sleep can then cause even more stress.
Digestive problems – Another way to determine if you are suffering from stress is look for digestive issues. If you feel that you are developing digestive concerns, it can be a clear sign of stress.
Change in appetite – Stress is known for causing changes in your appetite and eating habits. It can lead to either overeating or a lack of appetite. If you have noticed a sudden change in your eating patterns, it is time to consider treating your stress first.
Increased heartbeat – A faster heartbeat is often a result of stress. Studies have shown that people with higher levels of stress often suffer from increased heart rates.

Prolonged stress can have even worse effects on your health, leading to more serious ailments. That is why it is essential that you start working on reducing the stress and offer your mind the relaxation it deserves. The good news is that science now confirms that nature sounds offer a relaxing effect for your mind.

How nature sounds relax the mind

According to a research paper⁽¹⁾, nature sounds have the ability to change certain brain connections that are responsible for our body’s fight-or-flight response. By doing so, the sounds can significantly lower physical and mental stress. The researchers determined the effects of natural sounds by using behavioral experiments, heart-rate monitors, and brain scans. They used both natural and man-made sounds on the test subjects to record how the responses differ, revealing the reason behind the relaxing effect of natural sounds.

When the sounds were played, the participants were asked to perform specific tasks. During this time, their reaction time, heart rate, and attentiveness were measured. The researchers also monitored the changes in the subjects’ autonomic nervous systems; this is the set of organs that maintain blood pressure, breathing, digestion, and metabolism. A brain scan was used to check the default mode network of the brain, which maintains the “task-free” states and mind-wandering when a person is awake.

The result? When the participants listened to the man-made sounds, it promoted worrying, leading to anxiety, depression, and stress. On the other hand, when the test subjects listened to nature sounds, relaxation took root. They also had a faster reaction time while listening to nature sounds, proving that it can improve our body’s responses. While nature sounds reduced the fight-or-flight state, it also increased the body’s functionality. They stabilized heart rates better than artificial sounds as well, which can also promote relaxation.

The study also revealed that people with higher levels of stress can actually benefit more from nature sounds compared to people with less stress. The researchers also revealed that only a few minutes of listening to nature sounds can positively lower stress. You do not even need to step outside, if you can find an app for your phone that offers natural sounds. The right nature sounds can even improve your sleep, which is essential for reducing stress and relaxing the mind and body.

Using nature sound for therapeutic purposes

A study⁽²⁾ revealed that the use of natural sounds for therapeutic purposes is effective for reducing stress. However, it is important to understand that the result somewhat depends on the physical condition of the patients. Patients with a higher degree of physical complaints may benefit more with a combination of natural sounds and visual relaxers.

Another experiment⁽³⁾ was conducted on cardiac surgical patients to test if natural sounds have the ability to reduce pain and anxiety. The study revealed that the participants experienced less physical pain and anxiety, while feeling more relaxed, after continuous natural sound therapy.

A Harvard Health Publishing article⁽⁴⁾informs that the positive impact of natural sounds goes beyond just reducing stress. Recent studies have shown that nature and nature sounds have the ability to lower depression, anxiety, too. Additionally, a simple walk in nature can help improve your memory as well. Mood disorder is a serious psychological disorder, especially for the elderly. Retirement and growing health issues are some of the most prominent reasons behind mental stress. However, many people suffering from mood disorders do not opt for medication or therapy to treat the condition. For them, nature can be the most effective remedy.

Research has shown that the amount of time spent in nature is proportionate to the degree of reduction in depression, anxiety, and stress. Our brains have a region known as the prefrontal cortex, which stays active during the time we focus on repetitive negative thoughts. High degrees of stress and depression can cause the region to malfunction, resulting in uninterrupted negative emotions. It has been seen in studies that people who live in urban settings have higher activities in the prefrontal cortex. On the other hand, spending only a couple of hours in nature showed significantly reduced activity in that region of the brain.

Another thing that spending time in nature offers is lowering of stress hormones and blood pressure. Due to this, your body and mind feel more at ease after spending some time in nature. It has also been found that listening to the sounds of nature have similar effects as actually spending time in the woods. Such studies have proven the great potential of nature sounds as a stimulus for reducing stress of the body and the mind.

The best part about these findings is the assurance that the treatment for stress includes at least one tool that is easily available all around us: the sounds of nature.

Further scientific findings

Biobehavioral Health at Pennsylvania State University’s associate professor Orfeu Buxton informs that the sounds of nature are often non-threatening. Our brain interprets sounds in terms of whether threatening or not, and the first kind leads to stress. That is why nature sounds seem pleasing and comforting to us, helping to calm the mind. You surely have noticed how it is easier to sleep while listening to the sound of ocean-waves or rain. It is because the comforting quality of these sounds is unbeatable.

This ability of natural sounds has been proven by scientific experiments, too. According to a research article⁽⁵⁾, the sight of a natural environment, real or simulated, has the ability to positively reduce psychological stress, and natural sounds offer the same benefit. To conduct the scientific experiment, the researchers asked 40 test subjects to solve mental math challenges to put them under stress, and then they were exposed to natural sounds and sounds of noisy environments separately. The natural sounds used for the study included a running fountain and tweeting birds. To create the noisy environment, sounds of heavy traffic and low-level ambient noise were used. The result showed that the participants exposed to natural sounds recovered from their stress faster compared to the people who listened to noises of man-made environments.

What’s next?

Are you suffering from stress and looking for effective ways to relax your mind? Ruhgu app can help you with that. It offers a wide collection of divine music, sacred sounds, and nature sounds that can help you shed off all of that unwanted and harmful stress to lead a healthier lifestyle.

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