Mental Health And Watching Birds

Just like the Covid-19 pandemic truly tested our mental toughness now financial insecurity due to high interest rates is the new challenge to our mental well being.  We are dealing with depression, anxiety and all of the related health issues that come along with these tough times. What some of us know already but for many will probably come as a surprise is the mental, physical and emotional well being brought on by the simple of act of watching birds. This amazing self regulated, no doctors or prescriptions needed mental health program is available to everyone of all ages.

Scientists and doctors have now taken a great interest in the concept of what nature can do to help people. Here are just a few of the findings:

• Watching Birds Near Your Home is Good for Your Mental Health
• A study found benefits for mental health of being able to see birds, shrubs and trees around the home, whether people lived in urban or more leafy suburban neighbourhoods.
• Bird watching is an awesome hobby that is beneficial to your health and happiness. Why bird watch? Just take a look at this picture of a wood duck or this Bohemian Waxwing and you’ll understand. But birding is so much more than an aesthetic treat. While we are all partaking in some form of social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic, bird watching is a healthy hobby that you take up while staying local. Check out our list below to see the top 10 health benefits of bird watching.
• Appreciation for Nature Bird watching inspires a harmonious union with nature. It requires watchers to spend time in the great outdoors where they soak up vitamin D from the sun, breathe fresh air, and commune with animals. A love of the beauty and of the uniqueness of birds inspires a love of all nature, and spending time in nature is great for your health.

Watching birds near your home is good for your mental health

People living in neighbourhoods with more birds, shrubs and trees are less likely to suffer from depression, anxiety and stress, according to research by academics at the University of Exeter, the British Trust for Ornithology and the University of Queensland.

The study, involving hundreds of people, found benefits for mental health of being able to see birds, shrubs and trees around the home, whether people lived in urban or more leafy suburban neighbourhoods.

The study, which surveyed mental health in over 270 people from different ages, incomes and ethnicities, also found that those who spent less time out of doors than usual in the previous week were more likely to report they were anxious or depressed.

After conducting extensive surveys of the number of birds in the morning and afternoon in Milton Keynes, Bedford and Luton, the study found that lower levels of depression, anxiety and stress were associated with the number of birds people could see in the afternoon. The academics studied afternoon bird numbers - which tend to be lower than birds generally seen in the morning – because they are more in keeping with the number of birds that people are likely to see in their neighbourhood on a daily basis.

In the study, common types of birds including blackbirds, robins, blue tits and crows were seen. But the study did not find a relationship between the species of birds and mental health, but rather the number of birds they could see from their windows, in the garden or in their neighbourhood.

Previous studies have found that the ability of most people to identify different species is low (eg Dallimer et al, 2012), suggesting that for most people it is interacting with birds, not just specific birds, that provides well-being.

University of Exeter research fellow Dr Daniel Cox, who led the study, said: "This study starts to unpick the role that some key components of nature play for our mental well-being".

Birds around the home, and nature in general, show great promise in preventative health care, making cities healthier, happier places to live".

The positive association between birds, shrubs and trees and better mental health applied, even after controlling for variation in neighbourhood deprivation, household income, age and a wide range of other socio-demographic factors.

Recent research by Dr Cox and Professor Kevin Gaston, who are based at the Environmental Sustainability Institute at the Penryn Campus at the University of Exeter, found that watching birds makes people feel relaxed and connected to nature (Cox and Gaston, 2016).

The research is published in the journal Bioscience and was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council as conducted as part of the Fragments, Functions, Flows and Ecosystem Services project.

Date: 24 February 2017

The research is published in the journal Bioscience and was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council as conducted as part of the Fragments, Functions, Flows and Ecosystem Services project.

Birding With Benefits: How Nature Improves Our Mental Mindsets

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This article can be found on the Audubon website.