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With the start of the school year, many of us are rediscovering the joys of public transport. A challenge for some, as the train and the metro are synonymous with stress and distraction. Luckily, there is a simple way to make them more soothing.
British rail operator South Western Railway conducted a study led by Charles Spence, a professor of experimental psychology at the University of Oxford, to explore how to soften the commute through sound. The researchers compared the benefits of music, podcasts and nature sound recordings on 2,000 Britons who use public transport to get to work, according to the BBCThey found that birdsong and other natural sounds helped reduce stress by 35%. That’s much more than music or podcasts (11%).
This is not the first time that the therapeutic effect of nature sounds has been demonstrated. A team of Canadian and American researchers claim in a studypublished in 2021 in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, that the sound of rain or animal vocalizations “improve health, increase positive affectivity, and reduce stress and annoyance.” It would therefore be a shame to deprive yourself of them.
But there is no need to go to the forest to be lulled by the song of the blackbird or the sound of a peacefully flowing stream. Music listening platforms are full of playlists labeled “nature sounds”. They have accumulated millions of listens and are gaining new fans every day.
To make life easier for its commuters, South Western Railway has teamed up with wellbeing company Unwind to create its own playlists of bucolic recordings. They are available on most online music platforms, according to the BBC. Perfect for letting yourself be carried away by the chirping of birds or the lapping of waves as you travel on the train or tube.