Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK.
Nomad Projects, Sunbury Workshops, 24, Swanfield St, London, E2 7LF, UK.
Sci Rep. 2022 Oct 27;12(1):17589. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-20207-6.
The mental health benefits of everyday encounters with birdlife for mental health are poorly understood. 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. A sample of 1292 participants completed a total of 26,856 ecological momentary assessments between April 2018 and October 2021. Everyday encounters with birdlife were associated with time-lasting improvements in mental wellbeing. These improvements were evident not only in healthy people but also in those with a diagnosis of depression, the most common mental illness across the world. These findings have potential implications for both environmental and wildlife protection and mental healthcare policies. Specific measures, aimed at preserving and increasing everyday encounters with birdlife in urban areas, should be implemented.
人们对日常生活中与鸟类接触对心理健康的好处知之甚少。先前的研究通常依赖于回顾性问卷或缺乏生态有效性的人为设置。在本研究中，我们使用 Urban Mind 智能手机应用程序来研究在现实生活环境中看到或听到鸟类对自我报告的心理健康的影响。2018 年 4 月至 2021 年 10 月期间，共有 1292 名参与者完成了总计 26856 项生态瞬间评估。与鸟类的日常接触与心理健康的持续改善有关。这些改善不仅在健康人群中明显，而且在世界上最常见的精神疾病——抑郁症患者中也明显。这些发现可能对环境和野生动物保护以及精神保健政策都有影响。应实施具体措施，旨在保护和增加城市地区与鸟类的日常接触。
