Research Design Connection: Relaxing Nature Sounds

by Sally Augustin, Ph.D. | January 15th, 2018

Research conducted by Largo-Wight, O’Hara and Chen confirms earlier research that found that listening to nature sounds is relaxing. The trio share that they had participants in their study listen to silence, or nature sounds (ocean waves), or classical music (Mozart) “for 15 minutes in an office or waiting room-like environment…[statistical tests] showed a decrease in muscle tension, pulse rate, and self-reported stress in the nature group and no significant differences in the control or the classical music groups. The significant reduction in muscle tension occurred at least by 7 min[utes] of listening to the nature sound.” Erin Largo-Wight, Brian O’Hara, and W. Chen. 2016. “The Efficacy of a Brief Nature Sound Intervention on Muscle Tension, Pulse Rate, and Self-Reported Stress.” HERD: Health Environments Research and Design Journal, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 45-51. Sally Augustin, PhD, a cognitive scientist, is the editor of Research Design Connections (www.researchdesignconnections.com), a monthly …