Listening to the chirps and trills of birds can decrease anxiety and paranoia. A new study published October 13th in Germany tested the effects of birdsong and traffic noise on 295 randomly selected participants. “Participants performed cognitive tests and filled out questionnaires assessing mental health before and after the experiment. The researchers found that traffic sounds caused higher levels of depressive states, whereas birdsong lowered levels of anxiety and paranoia in healthy participants.”
Kind of makes me regret last night’s dinner choice of Blue Jays and Magpies. Next time I’ll go with the pigeons.