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exposure to birds can help people suffering from depression: study

research from king’s college london in the u.k. shows a positive correlation between seeing and hearing birds and improvements in mental well-being.

being around birds can ease depression, a new study finds.
research from king’s college london in the u.k. shows a positive correlation between seeing and hearing birds and improvements in mental well-being.
the improvements in mental health were seen in healthy individuals and those diagnosed with depression and, in some cases, the positive effects lasted eight hours.
“previous studies have typically relied on retrospective questionnaires or artificial set-ups with little ecological validity. in the present study, we used the urban mind smartphone application to examine the impact of seeing or hearing birds on self-reported mental wellbeing in real-life contexts,” the study said.
daily encounters with birds were associated with improvements in mental wellbeing — including in cases of people suffering from depression.
the study called for measures to increase urban encounters with birds and suggested the findings could lead to new mental health-care policies which include wildlife protection measures.
the study says more needs to be done to determine the health benefits from exposure to green spaces and bodies of water.
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kevin connor
kevin connor

kevin connor is a general assignment reporter with the toronto sun and has been with the company for decades. he graduated from the journalism course at humber college and was an intern at the toronto sun while in school. connor started working at the kenora daily miner and news after graduating. connor then worked at the winnipeg sun and the edmonton sun before coming back to the toronto sun.

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