Stress Recovery during Exposure to Nature Sound and Environmental Noise

• Main Authors: Mats E. Nilsson, Stefan Wiens, Jesper J. Alvarsson
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2010-03-01
• Series: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Subjects: soundscape; nature sounds; environmental noise; skin conductance level; heart rate variability; stress recovery
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/7/3/1036/

Research suggests that visual impressions of natural compared with urban environments facilitate recovery after psychological stress. To test whether auditory stimulation has similar effects, 40 subjects were exposed to sounds from nature or noisy environments after a stressful mental arithmetic task. Skin conductance level (SCL) was used to index sympathetic activation, and high frequency heart rate variability (HF HRV) was used to index parasympathetic activation. Although HF HRV showed no effects, SCL recovery tended to be faster during natural sound than noisy environments. These results suggest that nature sounds facilitate recovery from sympathetic activation after a psychological stressor.