The world we live in is full of noise and distraction to the extent that silence has become increasingly difficult to achieve. Despite some people disliking a quiet environment and equating it with being a lonely environment, others look forward to having this silence and can do anything to achieve it.
Did you know that noise pollution is harmful to you? In fact, the World Health Organization reported noise pollution to be a modern plague; nonetheless, the exposure to noise has adverse effects on your body.
Most of us fill our ears with podcasts, music, radio news, and not forgetting the sounds we create nonstop in our minds. Have you ever asked yourself how many times in a day do you spend in total silence? The answer is probably very few.
Indeed, silence has profound benefits, particularly to your brain. Besides from silence giving your ears a break, scientists have proved silence to offer numerous health benefits that boost your overall well-being. From a psychological standpoint, let’s look at why silence is good for your brain.
- Improves memory
Silence brings about growth in the hippocampus, which contributes to better memory function. A study in 2011 done by the National Academy of Sciences revealed that walking for forty minutes in a quiet place leads to brain growth in the hippocampus, which is associated with spatial memory. On top of that, silence helps your brain to have better memory consolidation.
- Regenerates brain cells
It might sound crazy, but silence can literally enhance growth in the brain. In a journal under brain, structure, and function back in 2013, revealed that two hours of silence in a day leads to the development of new cells in the hippocampus region. The growth is essential because it is within the part of the brain associated learning, emotion, and memory.
- Relieves stress
One of the physical effects of noise is increased the production of stress hormones. How? When sound waves arrive at the brain in the form of electrical signals, your body reacts. In particular, the part of the brain associated with emotion and memory formation is activated; hence leading to release of the stress hormone.
However, silence releases tension in the brain in a couple of minutes. Silence is more effective in doing this than listening to the so-called “relaxing music.” Try it and see how effective silence can help you to release tension, and hence, relieve stress.
- Replenishes mental resources
In this modern living space, there is a lot of never-ending attentional demands which place stress on the prefrontal cortex of the brain. The part is involved in problem-solving, decision-making, and high-order thinking. When you get away from all these, your brain’s attention centers automatically start to restore themselves. Noise drains your attentional resources more than when you engage in problem-solving or decision making. Therefore, if you can avoid it, you’ll be helping to restore your mental resources.
- Advances sleep
Finally, silence lessens the chances of having insomnia. If you have trouble sleeping, then probably you had a busy day, and likely you are still thinking and making sounds in your brain. Regardless of how busy your schedule might be, always try and have periods of silence in between the day. It goes a long way I enhancing your sleep.
Final Thoughts
There you go, top five science-backed reasons why silence is good for your brain. Go for walks in the parks or even along the shores. Simply, ensure you have periods of silence during the day, and you’ll be amazed how beneficial the silence is to your brain.