Birdlife May Be Proxy for Lower Stress and Anxiety

• Watching birds, even in your backyard, benefits your mental health.
• Living in a neighborhood with plentiful vegetation and birds can ease depression.
• Green spaces in cities can contribute to healthier living.

Need an easy way to reduce stress and anxiety in your life? Consider putting up a birdfeeder. Spending time outside, especially in areas with plentiful greenery and wildlife, has long been recognized as having a calming effect on people. But the presence of birds and nature around homes may help keep city residents happier and healthier, according to a January 2017 study from the University of Exeter, the British Trust for Ornithology and the University of Queensland.

Results from the study showed that people living in neighborhoods where they are likely to spend time around birds and see lots of greenery are less likely to suffer from depression, anxiety and symptoms of stress.

The research began with University of Exeter research fellow Daniel Cox, an ecologist with a background in studying birds in West Africa. Aware of the general health benefits for people who engage with the outdoor world, he wondered about the impact of doses of specific types of neighborhood nature — like birds, shrubs and trees — on the mental health of residents in surrounding areas.

“Vegetation is a very visible form of nature that provides a whole range of different benefits,” Cox says. Birds are another obvious kind of neighborhood nature because they’re visible and mobile, and people tend to be familiar with them, he explains. They also provide a connection to the natural world.

Cox led a team of academics who analyzed survey results from 263 people in urban and suburban areas. Researchers surveyed the vegetation around homes in a variety of neighborhoods and surveyed populations of birds in both mornings and afternoons. Cox says the researchers found there was a “positive relationship” between good mental health and plentiful birds and vegetation in neighborhoods.

Birds help the mind unwind

The researchers counted common birds, including jays and blackbirds. Although the species of bird did not appear to affect the data, the presence of birds in general made a difference.

Results of the study — which spanned demographic factors including household income, gender and age — showed that in neighborhoods where vegetation covers more than 20 percent of the area, residents were 11 percent less likely to show signs of depression and 25 percent less likely to show signs of anxiety and stress.

“Birds provide interesting behaviors for people to watch,” Cox says. “Looking at the whole psychology behind it, nature and birds specifically provide ‘soft fascinations’ that allow the mind to unwind, unfocus and recover from directed attention fatigue.”

The researchers also found that those who spent less time outdoors than usual in the previous week were more likely to report they were anxious or depressed.

More green space, less mental distress

Another study led by Cox tracked how much time people who lived in urban areas spent outside. Of 1,000 people surveyed, only about a third regularly spent time in public parks or private gardens. “There’s a huge demographic of people who don’t have any intentional experience with nature, which is really concerning given the health benefits nature can provide,” he says. This study supports previous research that has found that spending time in the yard, whether it's just relaxing or gardening, can help people lower stress and combat depression.

Nature, he says, is not only fascinating but plays an important role in human health.

Danielle Shanahan, one of the Exeter study’s authors, who is based in New Zealand, says time spent outdoors has other benefits, too, such as making people feel more connected to a community, improving physical fitness, reducing allergies and improving brain function.

“The scale of the benefits we receive from nature, and the number of different types of benefits we receive, are quite incredible,” she said in an email. “This means that it isn't just a 'nice to have,’ but it is fundamental. A regular dose of green is simply great for our health and well-being.”