New paper: Forest sounds boost mood and cognition, but not physiological stress or immunity

The first in a series of papers from our
SENSES project.

Our new paper, "Forest soundscapes improve mood, restoration and cognition, but not physiological stress or immunity, relative to industrial soundscapes," has been published in Scientific Reports.

While exposure to nature is well known to benefit health, it remains unclear which specific elements of natural environments drive these effects, a barrier to the wider use of nature-based therapies. This study is the first in a series isolating individual senses to explore how nature influences human biology.

Across two experiments performed at Loughborough University, participants listened to either forest sounds, recorded in Cabilla, a Cornish temperate rainforest, or industrial city-centre sounds recorded in Liverpool and London. Forest sounds significantly improved mood, restoration and cognition relative to industrial sounds, but had no effect on physiological stress markers or immune function.

These findings suggest that the acoustic elements of nature alone can meaningfully boost psychological wellbeing and cognitive performance, even without changing underlying physiology, and point to the potential for sound-based interventions for people with limited access to natural environments.

Huge thanks to our excellent colleagues and students, this work would not have been possible without you.

You can read the full paper here.