Bee Sounds
Have you ever walked under a flowering tree in the springtime right when the flowers are full of bees and it seems like the whole tree is alive and buzzing? How does it make you feel?
Have you ever just watched bees buzzing around on a sunflower as it gently sways in the breeze? What are you thinking about in those moments?
Or how about when you pop the cover of a hive or puff a bit of smoke, have you noticed that sound the bees make; that rush of buzzing? What effect does it have on you?
As beekeepers we learn to listen for the various changes in pitch of the hive to give us clues about their state or behavior. Like when they start to get agitated and their volume increases, or that unusual, slightly frenzied, nervous pitch when they’re missing a queen.
But did you know that sounds that we hear from bees and the hive are actually relaxing for our brains? The rapid movement and vibration of the wing muscles creates a vibration which emits a frequency. Reports show that a hive emits a frequency of between 280-350Hz depending on the activity level of the bees. And, it’s this frequency that has a calming and healing effect for humans. It’s one of the sounds of nature, like the sound of water or rustling leaves, that are soothing to our overloaded ears.
A study published in Scientific Reports March 2017 used brain imaging and heart rate monitoring to help understand the connection between brain, body and nature sounds. Researchers found that when we listen to artificial sounds the activity in the brain is associated with patterns of inward-focused attention; things like worry and rumination. These patterns are commonly linked to conditions like depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.
However, when we listen to nature sounds our brain patterns change to more external-focused attention. They saw that listening to nature sounds increased brain activity associated with the rest reaction as opposed to the fight-or-flight reaction. Plus, study participants who registered high levels of stress at the beginning of the study showed the biggest relaxation benefits from listening to nature sounds.
People in Slovenia have a tradition of using the sound of bees for relaxation. How Slovenians Use Bees to Relax Recently firefighters have been encouraged to use beekeeping to help cope with the stress they encounter daily. Bee houses were originally built as small workshops with the beehives built into the outside of the structure and a working space inside for the beekeeper. Now they are often outfitted with a small bed so that you can take time to relax, calm down, and feel the energy of thousands of bees around you.
We are all faced with so much noise all around us, all the time that we owe it to ourselves to take the time to relax. Even if we don’t each have our own bee houses (yet 😉), we can still take steps to use the relaxing sounds of the hive and nature to help manage anxiety and stress.
If you’re interested in trying to relax to the sound of bees, I found and their recording of a beehive in the forest. Give it a try, you deserve to take some time to take care of your mental health.
Laura Markus
Laura Markus is a blogger and beekeeper based in Italy, but originally from the U.S. She is fascinated by all things bees, but mostly by how they communicate. When she’s not hanging out at the hives she is also an English Teacher and Fluency Coach for non-native English speakers.
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