Bird watching helps students reduce stress and improve mental health

A recent study reveals that spending time in nature can make people feel better and less stressed. Bird watching, in particular, seems to have great benefits for well-being and reducing stress compared to just taking walks in nature. This is good news for college students who often struggle with mental health issues.

Nils Peterson, a professor at North Carolina State University and the study’s lead author, noted that young people, especially college students, have been hit hard during the pandemic. They often find it tough to access nature, which could help them feel better.

Bird watching is popular worldwide and can even be done on college campuses, even in urban areas. To measure how people felt, researchers used a survey called the WHO-5, which asks about feelings of well-being over the past two weeks. They also used another survey, STOP-D, to measure distress.

The study split participants into three groups: one did nothing different, one went on nature walks, and one did bird watching sessions. All groups felt better after the study, but the birdwatchers improved the most. They also reported less distress.

This study is different from past ones because it compared bird watching to doing nothing, rather than comparing it to something negative like traffic noise. This gives a clearer picture of the benefits.

The findings suggest that bird watching can boost mental health. Future research could look into why this is, and whether factors like race and gender affect the benefits.

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