Plain language summary | How do the acoustic features of soundscapes and traffic noise affect potential mental health benefits for people?

By Konrad Uebel, Melissa Marselle, Claire Buchan, Simon J. Butler, Nicholas Hanley, Anthony Higney, and Eleanor Ratcliffe

This Plain Language Summary is published in advance of the paper discussed. Please check back soon for a link to the full paper.

Natural sounds (or soundscapes), such as bird songs, are an important part of nature experiences for people that can provide mental well-being benefits. Whilst the amount and types of birds people hear is important, so too are the acoustic characteristics, such as how loud, complex and varied the overall soundscape is. However, the importance of these acoustic features and how they might influence a person’s experience is unclear, especially when adding traffic noise to the local soundscape.

To further understand the interaction between acoustic features and traffic noise, we used two studies where UK residents listened to sound recordings that differed in their levels of acoustic features and traffic noise, and then responded with how restorative and relaxing they were. Our results showed that how many types of birds people think are in a soundscape are a crucial aspect of their experience and that a medium level of acoustic complexity seems optimal for people to detect different types of birds. We also found that even a relatively low level of traffic noise can offset any potential benefits from natural sounds for people.

These results highlight how important people’s perception of nature is and how this can significantly influence positive well-being outcomes for people. It also highlights that man-made noise not only has a negative impact on well-being by itself, but it can also offset the benefits from natural sounds. We hope these results can help inform urban green space design so that people can experience therapeutic soundscapes of natural sounds and minimal traffic noise when in natural areas.