Abstract

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.

Details

Title
Smartphone-based ecological momentary assessment reveals mental health benefits of birdlife
Author
Hammoud, Ryan 1 ; Tognin, Stefania 1 ; Burgess, Lucie 1 ; Bergou, Nicol 1 ; Smythe, Michael 2 ; Gibbons, Johanna 3 ; Davidson, Neil 3 ; Afifi, Alia 1 ; Bakolis, Ioannis 4 ; Mechelli, Andrea 1 

 King’s College London, Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, London, UK (GRID:grid.13097.3c) (ISNI:0000 0001 2322 6764) 
 Nomad Projects, Sunbury Workshops, London, UK (GRID:grid.13097.3c) 
 J&L Gibbons, London, UK (GRID:grid.13097.3c) 
 King’s College London, Health Services and Population Research Department, Centre for Implementation Science, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, London, UK (GRID:grid.13097.3c) (ISNI:0000 0001 2322 6764); King’s College London, Department of Biostatistics and Health Informatics, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, London, UK (GRID:grid.13097.3c) (ISNI:0000 0001 2322 6764) 
Publication year
2022
Publication date
2022
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2729316500
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2022. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.