Natural soundscapes and the US National Parks!

 Most people choose natural retreats to go for a holiday. It is a way to de-stress themselves and overcome the fatigue and tension that comes with everyday mundane routine of family life and work. It refreshes them. The sound of nature seems to help in this and people enjoy listening to natural sounds and are away from human-related voices and noises. This itself is a relief and a change. National parks are a wonderful place to experience natural sounds and rejuvenate for that hard urban life. 

Humans and urban life

Most people and families flock to cities for livelihood. They believe that it will give them money and hence a decent life. But the net result is just the opposite. People get money but health and happiness both are negatively affected. And these are two things that money cannot buy. So ultimately, money proves useless. It can buy you some comforts of life and material gains. But that's all. The uses end there. Multiple studies and even our own observations have shown that money is unable to get you happiness and good health. If one has visited and/or worked in Dubai and other Gulf countries, one can see that there is a lot of money. But the very essence of life is missing in the foreign nationals working there. They carry a no-smiling face around and are invariably tense and anxious. Sometimes, you feel that they are a 'moving corpse'. They are also stricken with chronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, heart ailments etc. This example only to make you realize that where there is money, happiness and health is not necessarily there at the same place. In fact, it is more likely to be absent there. 

US National Park (Source: Road Affair)

Natural sounds and health

Natural sounds generate powerful reactions in humans and most of these are beneficial. It inspires writing, poetry,  music, and also some great, positive, and philosophical thinking. They are important for human health and well-being. These include sounds from animals and birds (biological sources), and from water, wind, leaves, rain (geophysical  sounds). These induce physiological and behavioral changes in a person. Thus natural soundscapes are a must for overall well-being of humans. But this natural acoustic environment is endangered by decrease in natural and wildlife reservoirs and intrusion of anthropogenic sounds from human activities, road and air traffic. Forests are being cut to make space for housing and agriculture has fallen to the back due to various wrong political policies. 

Hence, humans are enduring risks of this urban noise. It leads to premature hearing loss, hypertension, cardiovascular ailments, and high levels of annoyance. There is generalized restlessness and cognition and interpersonal relations get affected. But natural sounds return health to a person. This can be explained by means of two psychological theories: Attention Restoration Theory and Stress Recovery Theory. Hence being with Nature is a plus point that elevates mood and removes tension. Hence conservation of natural soundscapes is a top priority. 

National Parks and the USA

National Parks in the USA are a treasure where the acoustic environment is favorable for human health. Attempts to conserve it are ongoing and is a government agenda. Michigan State University, Carleton University, Canada, Colorado State University, and University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand, along with National Park Service studied the soundscapes at 221 places in 68 national parks. They found that in 11.3% of the parks had abundant natural sounds. Anthropogenic sounds were more in parks that were near road and air traffic and had more visitation. 

US national park map (Source: World Maps)

Also, read Walking is the best exercise!

It needs to be seen that road and air traffic around National Parks are minimized and people entering parks be told about making less noise and adapting to more of silence and listening so that all guests are benefited.