Bird Watching Associated With Mental Health
This post was written by Dr. Daniel Cox, from the University of Exeter. The original can be found here
The study surveyed the mental health over 270 people from different ages, incomes and ethnicities. Dr Cox and Professor Kevin Gaston found in the study, that watching birds makes people feel more relaxed and connected to nature.
The result of the study found there was lower levels of depression, anxiety and stress when watching birds in the afternoon. Even though the amount of birds seen in the afternoon is not as high as the amount of birds that can be seen in the morning. The birds people were watching in the study was common birds like blackbirds, robins, blue tits and crows. But the study did not find a relationship between the species of birds and mental health, but rather the number of birds a person could see from their windows. Whether it was in their own yard or garden or in the surrounding neighborhood. Watching birds around the home, and nature in general, showed great promise in preventative health care, making cities healthier and happier places to live.
One way to attract a variety of birds to your yard is with a bird bath. To learn more about bird baths click here.