In our busy, hectic lives; days and years go by without us paying attention to how polluted our brains are because of everything constantly happening around us. There is also the pollution of sound that over-stimulates our brains causing stress, moodiness, depression, anxiety among other things. Least do we know the benefits of silence and its impact on our brain.
We are programmed to hear certain sounds in our everyday lives without even noticing them. The sound of the TV, radio, or the crowd outside, our cell phones, strangers talking, traffic, noises from the street, noises from the neighbor’s house… noises everywhere, all the time. We don’t even realize what this overstimulation of our hearing does to our brain cells.
Scientific studies show it causes more damage than we realize. Could this damage be reversible? Yes, scientific studies also show that silence has to repair powers. Here are the benefits of silence:
1. Silence helps us calm down and feel more peaceful
If we could give ourselves, one or two hours of silence every day, we would be doing something very healthy to our mind and to our body. During the silence, our brains start adjusting to the calmer state of being and we feel relaxed and peaceful. We regulate our breathing by slowing down our brains and not focusing on stressful events. We might even feel sleepy. Imagine not having to watch TV or listen to the radio, or not having to keep your cell phone on. Away from technology for a little while. In touch with your inner self. Silence gives that to you.
Read 8 Surprising Ways Music Benefits Your Brain
2. Silence repairs our brain cells
It is a proven fact that silence has the power to rejuvenate and repair our brain cells. If you expose yourself to two hours of silence daily, your brain will start the repair process. You will find that your memory will start improving, you will be rested and your stress tolerance will increase as well. A stronger brain means a stronger body. Everything starts in those little grey cells. They respond to what we expose them to. So if we nourish our brains with good food (figuratively speaking), it will become healthy and the aging process will also slow down.
3. Silence gives us more satisfaction in the long run
Hopefully you are not addicted to TV, radio, and smartphones, game consoles, etc… well, chances are, we are addicted to one of these things if not more. It is a contemporary lifestyle. There is no easy escape. Have you ever stopped and thought about what would your life be like if you did not own a TV? Think about all the meaningless shows and biased news we watch on TV. In the end, what do we do? We work, we come home, we fall asleep in front of TV, we go to bed, we get up the next day and do it all over again. By taking these things out of your life, you will actually find better ways to spend time either with family and friends or with yourself, and most probably you will be doing things that are better in quality. That is why, the satisfaction comes when you kick the bad habits and replace them with better ones. You will like yourself so much more, it is guaranteed.
4. Silence improves our 5 senses
When we sit in silence, we actually become more aware of our surroundings but in a different dimension altogether. We hear sounds we haven’t noticed before, like the sound of the wind, or maybe the leaves gently touching one another, tree branches moving, maybe a distant sound of an animal… if we are in the city, we start paying attention to every single sound but in a constructive way. Not only our hearing improves but all our other senses also move into a different dimension where we get the most of them. We might see things we haven’t noticed were there before, or something that touches our skin feels different, or when we touch something we might notice more details about it. Silence cleans our senses and unblocks them.
5. Silence improves our attention
When we sit quietly, we give our brains exactly what it needs: focus. It comes naturally. By focus, we don’t mean thinking of something specific or the kind of focus we try to achieve during meditation. It’s a different kind of focus where your mind is actually allowed to wander from thought to thought. But you will notice, by practice, whether you do it intentionally or unintentionally, your pace will slow down and you will reflect inwards in a much healthier way. This will help you improve your attention and concentration skills. Once you improve these skills, your learning ability will start increasing and so will your memory.
Read How Mindfulness Can Improve Your Overall Mental Health
6. Silence makes us more honest
You can not run and hide from your innermost thoughts when you sit in silence. At one point you will find that you are indeed being more open to your own self about your feelings, your thoughts, your desires, your regrets, your sadness… When you spend this time alone, you are looking in and beginning to see yourself not as a reflection in the mirror, but with different pair of eyes.
The eyes of your mind. Learning to be honest with yourself will improve your communication skills not with yourself only but with the rest of the world. You will be able to better identify your problems and you will be able to approach them in a calmer and more reasonable way which will enable you to find solutions easily. This is one of the incredible benefits of silence. Isn’t it?
Read What Does A Man’s Silence Mean?
7. Silence slows down our fast pace
In our busy lives, we get carried away with work, family problems, problems caused by others… we live in a hurry and life passes us by. We need to slow down and taste each present moment while it is there so we can appreciate what we have before it is gone. Silence helps us with that. It slows our bodies down and relaxes us. It makes us more aware of the present moment and it teaches us to appreciate “now”.
Enjoyed reading about the brain benefits of silence? Are you ready to spend few hours in complete silence everyday?
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