A study published by the journal Scientific Reports demonstrated that seeing and hearing birds has a positive impact on mental health.

According to the findings of this study, paying attention to birds can have a positive effect on human mood, which lasts for up to about eight hours.

This project is led by the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London (United Kingdom); one of the best universities in the country and the largest health learning center in Europe, according to Times Higher Education.

The study was conducted between April 2018 and October 2021 with over 1,000 participants, including 71% female, 28% male and 1% in other categories; through the Urban Mind application.

Ubiquitous in the streets, alleys and urbanization of any city, birds seem to be a therapeutic solution to deal with each day.

Positive stimulation for the human mind

“Did you see or hear any birds?” is a question that, three times a day, the Urban Mind app prompts users to begin measuring their state of mind.

The study involved 1,292 participants, mostly from the UK and Europe, and the positive effects were reflected in people diagnosed with, or not, any mental condition.

Participants also had to record data such as sleep quality or details about their environment, to elicit information that would provide data related to emotional well-being.

In the conclusion of the study it was stated that listening to or observing birds increased feelings of well-being in healthy participants or those diagnosed with mental health conditions.

An app to study mental health

Urban Mind It was created in 2015 by Andrea Mechelli, a psychologist at King’s College London and one of the authors of the study, but not to study the bird effect, but to identify social patterns.

The app aims to explain why people living in cities are more prone to mental illness; nature overshadowed the response.

“Our first finding is that nature has a very powerful effect,” Mechelli said, according to a National Geographic article.

They published articles on the positive effects of walking along a canal or river. Then they decided to focus on birds to study the effects of rural and urban wildlife.

As a final result, birds are presented as a support, not a final solution.