Spending time around birds 'can improve mental wellbeing for up to eight hours'

Academics found that everyday encounters with birds boosted the mood of people with depression, Mustafa Qadri writes

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Seeing or hearing birds can improve mental health by uplifting your mood for up to eight hours, a study has shown.

Research from King’s College London said this can be an effective way to help those diagnosed with depression, the most common mental illness in the world.

The study used a smartphone application called Urban Mind to collect people’s real-time reports of mental well-being alongside their reports of seeing or hearing birdsong.

Lead author of the study, Ryan Hammond said: “By using the Urban Mind app we have for the first time showed the direct link between seeing or hearing birds and positive mood.

“We hope this evidence can demonstrate the importance of protecting and providing environments to encourage birds, not only for biodiversity but for our mental health.”

The study took place between April 2018 and October 2021, with over one thousand participants completing over 26.000 assessments using the Urban Mind app, developed by King’s College London.

The majority of participants were recruited worldwide, based in the United Kingdom, the European Union and the United States of America.

The app asked participants three times a day whether they could see or hear birds, followed by questions on their mental well-being. This helped researchers to draw dots between the two and estimate how long this association lasted.

The study was published in Scientific Reports.

Data from Champion Health has shown that 58 per cent of UK employees are experiencing anxiety and only 9 per cent receive mental health support.

Senior author Andrea Mechelli, from King’s College London, said: “The term ecosystem services is often used to describe the benefits of certain aspects of the natural environment on our physical and mental health. However, it can be difficult to prove these benefits scientifically.

“Our study provides an evidence base for creating and supporting biodiverse spaces that harbour birdlife, since this is strongly linked with our mental health.

“In addition, the findings support the implementation of measures to increase opportunities for people to come across birdlife, particularly for those living with mental health conditions such as depression.”