Natural Sounds vs. Favorite Music: Which Is the More Restorative Indoor Leisure Activity When Listened to Repeatedly?

This longitudinal online field study compared the restorative effects of two indoor leisure activities: repeated listening to natural sounds and favorite music, considering individuals’ music-related mood-regulation strategies. Sixty-nine university students participated in a 14-day online field experiment with a crossover design. Subjects listened to natural sounds for 10 min every day for 1 week and to favorite music in the other week. The effects of these sounds on the subjects’ self-reported daily restorative experience and weekly perceived stress were measured by questionnaires. The analyses based on linear mixed-effects models showed that, when listened to repeatedly, natural sounds became more and more restorative than music for those with no music-related mood-regulation strategies, while these two sound types were equally restorative among subjects who had such strategies. This suggests the superiority of natural sounds over music. People who spend time in stressful indoor spaces can benefit from this easy-to-use, cost-free indoor leisure activity when unable to visit natural surroundings.