A new study finds that exposure to birdsong soundscapes or forest landscapes reduce physiological stress. These findings of physical health effects compliment previous research showing mental health benefits associated with birdwatching and could be useful for urban planners with limited green space options.
The study, led by North Carolina State University researchers, used heart rate monitors to measure how exposure to different types of sounds and landscapes affected physiological stress. Participants spent time in urban and natural spaces with noise-canceling headphones that played either birdsong or traffic sounds.
Spending time in the forest landscape reduced heart rate relative to the urban landscape, indicating reduced stress. Similarly, listening to the birdsong soundscape increased heart rate variability relative to the traffic soundscape, indicating that birdsong reduced stress.
Importantly, birdsong could reduce stress in urban areas and forest exposure could reduce stress even when traffic noise was present, said Trent Ford, lead author of the paper and an undergraduate researcher at NC State.
“Across our four treatments, we expected that physiological stress might only decrease for those participants who were both in a natural space and listening to birdsong. However, we found that time in forested landscape and listening to birdsong each had independent, positive effects on well-being,” he said.
The findings show how urban planners can create spaces that improve wellness even if they aren’t able to incorporate both forest and birdsong at the same time.
“Providing access to forested landscapes where birdsong, rather than traffic noise, predominates would be the ideal scenario, but this research suggests urban planners have more options,” Ford said. “When there is not room for trees, they can design stress reducing landscapes with traffic calming measures that shift the soundscape balance away from traffic and towards birdsong. Similarly, when traffic noise is difficult to abate directly, additional tree cover may be beneficial by itself.”
The paper, “Exposure to Forests and Birdsong May Reduce Physiological Stress Among College Students,” is published in Frontiers in Bird Science. Co-authors include Payton DeMay, J. Aaron Hipp, Lincoln R. Larson, Hannah M. Desrochers, Jackson Webb, Iris Howell, Made Ayu Pratiwi, Kushagra Meshram, JD Kluttz, Erin Foy, Griff Barlow, Caitlin McDade, Ivana Mali, Christopher E. Moorman and M. Nils Peterson of NC State University and Christian J. Bourke of the University of Georgia.
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Note to editors : An abstract follows.
“Exposure to forests and birdsong may reduce physiological stress among college students”
DOI: 10.3389/fbirs.2026.1884835
Authors: Trenton Ford, Payton DeMay, J. Aaron Hipp, Lincoln R. Larson, Hannah M. Desrochers, Jackson Webb, Iris Howell, Made Ayu Pratiwi, Kushagra Meshram, JD Kluttz, Erin Foy, Griff Barlow, Caitlin McDade, Ivana Mali, Christopher E. Moorman and M. Nils Peterson, NC State University; Christian J. Bourke, University of Georgia.
Published Sept. 2, 2026 in Frontiers in Bird Science
Abstract:
Introduction:
The escalating mental health crisis among college students presents a global challenge that may be exacerbated by isolation from nature. Previous research, largely conducted in laboratory settings, indicates that exposure to nature and birdsong improves mental and physiological health. We built on this work with an outdoor experiment testing for independent and potentially additive effects on physiological stress associated with exposure to natural landscapes (i.e., forests) and soundscapes (i.e., birdsong).
Methods:
We engaged 95 participants from North Carolina State University in a randomized, four-treatment, within-subjects design to evaluate the effects of adding different sounds (birdsong vs. traffic) to landscapes (forest vs. gray space) on measures of physiological stress: heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) (measured as RMSSD). We started each sample with 5 min of silent control, followed by 10 min of recorded birdsong or recorded traffic noise. Participants listened to each recording in both settings. We modeled HR and HRV using linear mixed models with a random intercept to account for participant effects and fixed effects for soundscape, landscape, their interaction, age, and gender.
Results:
Forest exposure had reduced HR relative to gray space (b = 0.65, p = 0.007). Birdsong exposure increased HRV relative to traffic noise (b = -1.38, p = 0.049). We did not detect a significant soundscape × landscape interaction for either outcome (all p > 0.16).
Discussion:
These findings indicate that visual and auditory nature cues may support physiological recovery through partially independent pathways, with forest landscapes associated with reduced cardiovascular arousal and birdsong soundscapes associated with increased autonomic recovery. Results highlight the different ways that green infrastructure on college campuses can improve students’ mental health outcomes.
Frontiers in Bird Science
Experimental study
People
Exposure to forests and birdsong may reduce physiological stress among college students
2-Sep-2026
The authors report no conflicts of interest.