7 Brain Tips
How to have a healthier, happier life in 2024
The tips I’m sharing are based on neuroscientist Richard Sima's articles in the Washington Post
#1 The first recommendation is to spend time outdoors listening to the birds sing.
I joined Merlin, the free online arm of the Cornell University Ornithology Lab, several years ago at the behest of my sister-in-law, an avid birder. Now I walk around our neighborhood holding up my cellphone -- to the puzzlement of our neighbors, I am sure – using Merlin to capture whatever birdsongs are in the air at different seasons. We live in the northern U.S. but we seem to host a lot of Carolina Wrens, who have a great variety of lyrical warbles.
We also set up a bird feeder outside our kitchen window and I faithfully record the birds who visit us…including a beautiful but terrifying little grey hawk that sits on our shed and watches the feeder with – you guessed it -- a hawk eye for sparrows. (I do have some guilt about that.)
I think that we humans have the capacity to recognize, intuitively, the things that increase our wellbeing. Current research is helping us understand why we are drawn to nature and how that unconscious pull benefits us. The next step, as always, is to turn knowledge into regular practice.
So, do you also collect birdsongs? Do you have a bird feeder? Do you have birds in your house?
The article by Richard Sima that I am sharing offers more fascinating and useful information about birdsong. It even includes a bit of birdsong for listening!
Stay tuned for more,
Lynne
This article is available only to subscribers, but since the Washington Post costs only $4 a month, you might want to subscribe.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/interactive/2023/birds-song-nature-mental-health-benefit
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Getting outside is such a good health benefit. And I think finding an excuse/hobby to prompt oneself to get there is a healthy habit. There has actually been some nice research recently on how walking in nature helps the immune system. One aspect of which is called "Forest Bathing". I am providing a link that links out to several resources. https://www.oakstreethealth.com/6-health-benefits-of-spending-time-outside-and-in-nature-1511411