Over the past few days in Calgary we have experienced some dramatic fall winds.
The kind of wind that blows your hat off and fills the air with dancing leaves.
The kind of wind that signals the change of the seasons.
And as my mind turned to what I wanted to share with you in this week’s blog article, the wind reminded me of the healthiest sounds for the human being.
These healthiest sounds are water, birdsong and wind.
I have thoroughly enjoyed the soft rustling of the gentle summer breezes in the leaves of the trees in our yard over the past few months. With the bubbling water fountain, the gentle rustling leaves and birds playing in the birdbath and singing in the trees, it has been my oasis of calm.
Especially from the intrusive noises of the city.
The human family evolved with the sounds of water – showing us where to find this essential sustenance.
We evolved with the songs of the birds letting us know when it was safe in the forest – or a signal of possible danger when the birds suddenly stopped singing.
We evolved with the phenomenal range of sounds of the wind that gave us gentle, cool relief on a hot day or sent us to shelter with a deafening roar.
From tens of thousands of years of having these sounds in our environment, our bodies and nervous systems respond with health.
But over the past couple of hundred years, that environment has changed dramatically. Especially for those of us who live and work in cities.
Here, there is a sound scape that we did not evolve with. Our nervous systems have no reference point for how to deal with these sounds.
So what happens is – stress hormones are released by our nervous systems.
Is that healthy? No, especially over the long term.
The European Union has begun to study the effects of traffic noise on people in member countries. Here are some of the things they found:
- Traffic noise is associated with between 200,000 and 250,000 cases of heart disease every year. Of those, 50,000 die.
- 16 million people can’t sleep.
- Noise is impacting the health of 125 Million people within the European Union – That’s 4 times the population of Canada!
As you can see, noise is creating a significant health problem for those who live in cities. One you may not even be aware of.
And we are deficient in these healthy sounds – like being deficient in Vitamin D in the winter months in the northern hemisphere.
If you haven’t been on the home page of Sound Wellness for a while, you will notice that I am GIVING AWAY MP3 downloads of my CD “Woodland Song.” It is a blissful hour of the sounds of soft bubbling water to relax your body and birdsong to keep you focused while you work, or to even help you sleep.
Try it out. Just click to receive the special report and mp3 download
My special report will give you more information on how sound works and why it is so helpful in supporting your health and wellness. Something we can all use in these stressful times.