image copyrightBBC/Serenity Strull
Bird watching helps slow down the aging of the brain, and in recent years it has been increasingly used as an auxiliary activity for patients with cognitive impairment (dementia).
Every week, a group of elderly birdwatchers spend several hours in a wooden birdhouse in the English countryside. They observed birds through telescopes and excitedly shared their findings. An oystercatcher stretched out its long, brightly colored beak and searched for food on the gravelly ground; two crested grebes were floating up and down in the water, with the feather crests on their heads raised high.
Most of the group of birders had trouble remembering what had happened earlier in the day, and some even had trouble keeping up with others' conversations. But when they talk about the birds around Forge Mill Lake in the West Midlands, England, they become more enthusiastic.
78-year-old Harold (pseudonym) is one of them. As a young man, he loved the outdoors, but in recent years he has become reticent and anxious due to dementia. His daughter Lucy (pseudonym) brought him here, hoping that a change of environment and a view of the tranquil lake would be good for him.
Harold was a little uneasy at first, but when someone pointed out a Eurasian robin to him, he began to smile and enjoyed watching the ducks play in the water. Blue tits shuttled among the nearby trees, and Lucy even saw her father's long-lost laughter.
Jenny Budinger, a community dementia consultant at Age UK, which runs the birdwatching group, said: "In that moment, he was truly in the present and no longer worried about his memory or losing his self-confidence. It was a very powerful, but gentle way to do it."
Bird watching is increasingly seen as a beneficial activity for the elderly and people with dementia. Bird watching groups have been established in residential care homes for the elderly in the UK, Germany and the United States. Even simply noticing bird activity through a window can help seniors feel more connected to others, gain more positive emotions, and improve memory skills.
Now, new research shows that bird watching can reshape the brain structure just like learning to exercise or play a musical instrument, and even help slow down the aging process of the brain.
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A more organized brain
Meanwhile, in the lab, neuroscientists are studying how birdwatching affects the brain.
They tested veteran birdwatchers' ability to identify birds to differentiate between experts and novices, and then analyzed their brains.
Scientists have discovered that expert birdwatchers have different brain structures. Additionally, expertise in bird watching may help maintain higher brain organization, thereby slowing down age-related cognitive decline.
Erik Wing led a research project at the Baycrest Academy for Research and Education in Toronto, Canada, which compared the brain magnetic resonance (MRI) scans of birdwatching experts and novices when identifying birds. They found that experts' brains are connected differently in certain areas, and these areas are closely related to functions such as attention, visual perception, and visual recognition.
In expert birdwatchers, activity in these brain areas was more active, especially when identifying birds that were unfamiliar to them.
The results of the study did not prove whether it was differences in brain structure that led to birdwatching expertise, or whether long-term birdwatching changed brain structure.
However, Wen said one explanation is that the areas of the brain responsible for activities related to bird watching may have experienced "neuroplasticity" changes, which is the brain's ability to change its structure and function over time.
Eric Wing also analyzed how organized the brains of birdwatchers are.
The brain typically becomes progressively less organized as we age, and less organization is often associated with cognitive decline. However, some areas of the brains of expert birdwatchers have higher levels of organization and coherence than do novices of the same age. Some of these areas were areas of the brain that had previously shown higher activity when identifying birds.
Wen said this shows that as experts age, their brains can still "maintain their original organization" to some extent.
More research is needed to understand the nature of this retention phenomenon and how it relates to overall cognitive function. But current research results show that "if this skill is learned earlier in life, its benefits may continue into old age," Wen said.
This is undoubtedly good news for many Generation Z (16 to 29 years old) who picked up binoculars early and started bird watching.
bird therapy
Wen's study focused on birdwatching expertise, but other research has found that birdwatching can have psychological benefits even without special knowledge or skills.
In fact, when it comes to psychological recovery from birdwatching, such as feeling calm, free and re-energized, passion may be more important than professional ability.
A Polish study of 388 birdwatchers found that those who found birdwatching to be more attractive than other activities and considered birdwatching an important part of their lives were more likely to experience a sense of psychological recovery than more skilled but less enthusiastic birdwatchers.
In other words, simply cultivating an interest in birds may be beneficial in itself.
Elisabeth Kals, a professor of social and organizational psychology at the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt in Germany, has always been concerned about how the relationship between people and nature affects life experience and physical and mental health. She studied what happened to residents of residential care homes when they had the opportunity to observe nearby wild birds.
Her team has set up bird feeding stations outside 65 residential care homes, allowing residents to sit comfortably in indoor public spaces and watch birds. Researchers assessed residents' cognitive ability, mobility and physical and mental health through self-reports and information provided by institutional staff and family members.
After just a few weeks, the researchers observed improvements. After a month, birdwatching explained the residents' physical and mental health better than factors such as age and level of care needed.
"The results are very positive," Karls said.
She added that residents who participate in bird watching become more cognitively flexible. This means they are better able to keep up with conversations, interact with family members who come to visit, remember and recognize birds that have been seen, and are more mentally alert.
The first to notice the changes were nursing home staff.
"Some of the residents didn't smile for weeks, and when they started bird watching, the caregivers finally saw the smiles on their faces again," Carls said.
Karls says some improvements in memory and concentration can already be noticed after as little as three to four weeks.
The research results achieved by her team have prompted many German health insurance companies to invest in installing bird feeders and bird watching areas in more than 400 residential care homes in Bavaria. Some of these insurance companies were also sponsors of research projects.
"It works so well, it even saves money," Carls said.
The United States also has a similar plan. A program began in 2013 at four nursing communities in Connecticut and has since expanded to Texas and Colorado.
This treatment program called "Bird Tales" is specially designed for patients with dementia. Bird feeders are installed in the facilities where they live, and bird dolls that emit simulated bird sounds are provided to allow patients to learn about different birds.
Participants generally reported positive results of the program. They say activities help stimulate cognitive abilities and allow them to reconnect with past memories.
Similar programs also benefit stroke survivors. Some stroke patients develop aphasia, an impairment of the ability to speak or understand language.
The "Intensive Comprehensive Aphasia Program" at the University of Montana in the United States began arranging participants to observe owls in 2021, and has now expanded to observe various species of birds in Montana under the guidance of dedicated personnel and identify their calls.
Why does bird watching have such a positive impact on people's feelings and thinking?
"It's not just about the birds themselves, but about nature, concentration, emotion, meaning, social communication and activity, all coming together in a very simple way. It creates small moments of curiosity, pleasure and anticipation," Carls said.
Birding, she added, is "very easy to get into."
This may explain why, in a UK survey of people with dementia and their carers, observing birds and other wildlife was the second most popular outdoor activity after walking in nature.
The same survey also found that transportation and travel convenience are important considerations for people with dementia. For people who can see birds through their kitchen windows, these obstacles may be greatly reduced.
Eric Wing says birdwatching is a way to explore curiosity, and that curiosity itself may be what makes it so rewarding.
"I think there are a lot of benefits to be gained from adding more novelty and new experiences to your life in middle age and continuing into old age," Wen said.
Curiosity plays an important role in maintaining cognitive function in later life, possibly in part because it activates norepinephrine (norepinephrine) and dopamine in the brain, two substances that have positive and anti-inflammatory effects.
For Carls, getting to know the birds that chirp and soar around us is also a way to re-understand himself.
"As humans, we are inherently part of nature, but unfortunately we lose that connection very early in life," she said. "[Birding] is a way to reconnect, and it's very simple."
*To protect privacy, some characters in the article have used pseudonyms.
We used artificial intelligence to help translate this article, and its original text is in English. Before publication, BBC reporters checked the translated content.
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