Positive Effects of Nature Sounds Ambient nature sounds have the ability to aid sleep, reduce stress, and provide a relaxing atmosphere for activities such as yoga, tai-chi, and meditation.

Most of us spend our days surrounded by the sounds of vehicles, televisions, and office machines. Nature sound recordings can offer us an escape from these unnatural surroundings, and allow us to reclaim our balance. Popular sounds used in ambient recordings are: ocean waves, creeks, waterfalls, wind, rain, thunder, and birds. Our sense of hearing can have a strong influence on our emotional health. Through experimentation, you can discover the effects each of these sounds have on your moods and emotions. Because our life experiences and environment are so diverse, each person reacts differently to the various sounds of nature. Below are a number of common benefits that nature sounds may offer:

Keep a Sleep Diary. Often it will help to keep a sleep diary by your bed and record your sleep patterns each day. You may discover an evening ritual to improve your sleep.

Eliminate noise in the bedroom. Sudden household or neighborhood noise can interrupt sleep. A white noise machine, fan, or other sleep-aid tool like the one above, can mask noise that could otherwise disturb your sleep.

Read and share ideas about stress reduction, relaxation techniques, and sleep-aids on our sleep and relaxation discussion page.

More sleep, relaxation,, stress reduction, and relaxing music on our sleep and relaxation resources page.

Read more:
How To Sleep archives: Flickr slideshows with relaxing music