The next time you feel your productivity and mood slipping at work, try a little babbling-brook therapy: Listening to natural sounds like flowing water significantly improved employees’ productivity and mood compared to sitting in silence, according to a study presented at an Acoustical Society of America meeting.
“Complete silence isn’t the best environment in which to concentrate because in nature, a silent environment can signal danger,” says study author Jonas Braasch, PhD, an associate professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. So, the next time you need a reset, take a short walk next to a creek, enjoy your lunch beside a fountain, or if you can’t escape your desk, go to naturesoundsfor.me to create a free, custom mixed natural-ambience soundtrack.
Written by Karen Asp
This article was first published in the print edition of Yoga Journal Singapore, which is now Yogahood Online
