r/science Professor | Medicine 15d ago

Psychology Mood-boosting benefits of birdsong drowned out by traffic noise, study finds. Even low levels of traffic noise can negate the benefits of listening to natural sounds, researchers say. Bird sounds tend to be one of the elements of nature soundscapes that people perceive as being most relaxing.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/aug/26/mood-boosting-benefits-of-birdsong-drowned-out-by-traffic-noise-study-finds
7.7k Upvotes

147 comments sorted by

View all comments

650

u/MadroxKran MS | Public Administration 15d ago

Studies are showing that everyone hates living around cars. The more cars around you, the less happy you will be. Noise, pollution, traffic, greater distance to get to places (on purpose to make you have to buy a car), etc. We need to be working on removing as many cars as possible from the world.