Forgotten habit, new health trend: If you want to do something good for yourself, you should watch this animal

Sparrows usually made up the majority on our terrace, with blackbirds and tits also regularly visiting. Robins visited us frequently, but my father still considered it an occasion to say "the robin" if he was the first to see one. I, in turn, took this as a signal to look outside and observe the activity in front of our window for a while. If a wren, chaffinch, hawfinch, bullfinch, or even a great spotted woodpecker graced us, my father's facial expression, gestures, and tone of voice—"There, look, the hawfinch!"—made it clear that it was now important to interrupt our game of Mao-Mao, breakfast, or chatter and observe what the VIB (Very Important Bird) was doing on our terrace.

Today, a quarter of a century later, in a German city, I don't encounter nearly as many birds in my daily life as I did back then in my parents' house on the outskirts of a small town. But whenever a tit wanders onto my balcony, I see a magpie in the tree outside my window, or I'm hanging out with geese and ducks in the park, it's as natural for me as scratching myself when I have an itch to pause and watch the birds. And just like after scratching, I feel better than before.

Studies show: Birding is good for the psyche

Several studies from different countries now suggest that this effect is not just due to my childhood experience and can occur in anyone: watching or listening to birds can have positive effects on our health.

After evaluating Europe-wide surveys of around 26,000 people, environmental researcher Joel Methorst of the Helmut Schmidt University in Hamburg concluded that "the effect of bird diversity on life satisfaction was as strong as that of income": Living in an environment with many, ideally different, bird species makes people just as happy as earning a lot of money.

In a 2018 study involving nearly 1,300 test subjects, a research team from King's College London found that the more often people spent time in an environment richer in birds, the more comfortable they felt – both mentally healthy and depressed people.

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute in Hamburg demonstrated in an experiment with almost 300 participants that simply listening to bird sounds can relieve our psyche: While simulated traffic noises demonstrably increased stress and tension, fears, worries, and brooding subsided in the presence of chirping.

Further research, for example from Poland and China, provides additional evidence for the thesis: Birding is a useful trend and can help us cope with our stressful, oppressive everyday lives in a more relaxed and cheerful manner.

Where there are birds, the world is in order

I can say from experience that regular birding doesn't make all winter problems fly south: Whether as a child, adolescent, or adult, I can't remember a single crisis that a few minutes of watching chickadees has resolved. But as a mood lifter, it works for me every time I watch these fascinating feathered creatures hopping or waddling around, or hear them chirping outside my window. And they give me a sense of home and security: Where there are birds, the world is in order and a safe place. If it weren't, they would fly away.

Brigitte

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