While we might think we know what silence is, in a world of stress, technology and digital chatter, finding quiet can be a challenge.
Noise is everywhere. And it’s almost inescapable. You leave the chatter of the classroom for a relaxing lunch and you’re met by another cacophony of sounds… There’s construction on the street, traffic zooming, music blaring. At home phones bleep, the washing machine whirs, the television’s on, your sister’s playing the piano. Somehow, you never quite feel rested. Yet practising a few minutes of silence reflection every day can improve your health and wellbeing.
WHY SILENCE IS GOOD FOR YOUR WELLBEING
- Silence helps create harmony within. Removing noise gives you time to think and contemplate, which can lead to a deeper, more balanced sense of wellbeing.
- Silence could have a big effect on your health. A study of the effect of noise on mice found that just two hours of silence a day led to the development of new brain cells in the hippocampus, the area of your brain responsible for learning, memory and emotion. The findings suggest that silence could be therapeutic for conditions like depression.
- Silence has long been a feature of world religions and many religious orders still practise it as a way to achieve a higher spiritual understanding.
- Loud noises raise stress levels by activating your brain’s amygdala, causing the release of the stress hormone cortisol.
- Just as too much noise can cause stress and tension, research has found that silence has the opposite effect, releasing tension in the brain and body. A study published in the journal Heart found two minutes of silence to be more relaxing than listening to relaxing music, based on changes in blood pressure and blood circulation in the brain.
- During times of quiet stillness, the kind you find when walking alone in nature, for example, your brain can let down its sensory guard and is given an opportunity to restore its mental resources.
5 STEPS TO GIVE YOURSELF A NOISE DETOX
- DISCONNECT: TURN OFF EVERYTHING. Your phone, computer and television. Anything that hums or beeps or rings. If you can’t turn it off, mute it.
- GIVE YOURSELF SOME SPACE. Solitude is a powerful aid to silence. Being on your own gives your brain a rest from constant distractions.
- DAYDREAM OR MIND TRAVEL. Silence gives your mind clarity and without any disruptions you can think far more deeply. Use it to go off and have an adventure, or else solve a problem that has been bothering you. You will find that silence helps you concentrate far more effectively.
- BE THANKFUL FOR WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU HAVE. By giving yourself this time of quiet reflection, you can focus on the positive elements of your life. You will gain a greater appreciation of who you are and what makes your life special, particularly the relationships you have with other people.
- CONCENTRATE YOUR MIND. What sounds can you hear? A chorus of birdsong? Insects? The wind sweeping through trees? Someone walking on gravel? You might find that you end up hearing more by learning to embrace silence.
