Incredible Clip Reveals What Listening to Bird Noises Every Morning Does To Your Mental Health

As the world shifts its gears to a faster pace, humans battle it out with overstimulated nerves and increased stress levels, resulting in poor mental health. What we really need to do is stop and observe for a while. TikTok user MaryLisa Emery (@marylisaemery), who is a psychic healer, recommends tuning into birdsong which can considerably impact the state of your mental health. When outside, it is always great to listen to those sweet chirps of the birds but the creator says it is something primal that is linked to it.

“One of the many reasons being outside is so good for you: birdsong,” Emery shared in the video. She stood in the middle of a forest pathway and a brief moment of silence allowed the viewers to hear the calming chirps from the nearby birds. The TikTok user explained that birdsong is apparently a "primal sign that there are no predators around." She continued, “So your nervous system starts to relax.” The video amassed more than 500,000 views and 112,400 likes from enlightened viewers, who reacted to the post with myriads of insights about her mental health advice.

People appreciated her for sharing the much-needed advice. “No way! I didn’t know that about birds! That’s so cool! Thanks for sharing!” wrote one person (@gabigafforelli) while another (@lakerivermountain) vouched, “I listen to nature sounds on my phone when I’m stressed. It’s super helpful. Nature is my happy place.” Similarly, a fellow internet user (@lakwehoflight) revealed, “My morning alarm is birdsong, and I listen to birdsong playlists while I work. it has been a life changer towards healing anxiety.” Meanwhile, someone else (@evanchooker) joked, “Gonna be scared whenever I don’t hear birds now.” @ilovebugsnstuff ranted about living in cities where birdsong is barely heard. “One thing I hate about living in the city is no longer hearing birds chirping,” the comment read.

While Emery’s information about birdsong lowering anxiety and stress levels and improving mental health is true, her claim about it being a “primal sign” is not exactly backed by science. In fact, there is very little knowledge about the subject since there has not been enough research over the years. According to The Washington Post, increased contact and interaction with nature are associated with brain and body health. “The special thing about birdsongs is that even if people live in very urban environments and do not have a lot of contact with nature, they link the songs of birds to vital and intact natural environments,” said Emil Stobbe, author of one of the research studies. She is an environmental neuroscience graduate student at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development. 

Another study published in the journal Nature suggests that even listening to six minutes of audio clips of bird songs could alleviate anxiety levels, depression, and paranoia. An interesting survey assessed 295 online participants to self-assess their emotional states and take a cognitive memory test. They randomly assigned the participants to audios of traffic noises and birdsongs and asked them to remeasure their emotional and cognitive states. It was found that participants who listened to more diverse birdsongs (eight species) experienced lesser depressive symptoms while those who listened to less diverse birdsongs (two species) also had similar results. However, the participants who were assigned diverse traffic noises said they felt worse symptoms of depression and bad mood. 

You can follow @marylisaemery on TikTok for more videos.