When was the last time you heard nothing? When you were surrounded by complete silence; no pinging phone, no television in the background, no distractions whatsoever. While a lot of us have grown used to the noise pollution in our everyday lives, is it really okay for us to be surrounded by sound constantly?
Silence Is Golden, And We Have the Science to Prove It
Our brains are amazingly complex, and even have the ability to repair and regenerate itself. One 2013 study conducted on mice and published in the journal Brain, Structure, and Function came across an incredible benefit of silence, almost by accident. Imke Kirste and her team of researchers were using different auditory stimuli (music, baby mouse calls, white noise, and silence) to examine the effects they had on the brain [2].
An Accidental Discovery: What Science Does to Your Brain
Kirste initially intended silence to be used as the control in her experiment, but what she found was surprising. All the sounds only had a short-term neurological effect on the mice [3], while silence had the more lasting effect.
The scientists discovered that when the mice were exposed to two hours of silence per day they developed new cells in the hippocampus. The hippocampus is a region of the brain associated with memory, emotion and learning [1]. She viewed the results as a success; she understood that ‘environmental enrichment’ like the introduction of a toy or other mice, helped new neurons to develop because they stimulated the brains of the mice [3].
Silence, however, was so artificial and alien, that it generated more neurons in the brain. Kirste explains that “The alert elicited by such unnatural silence might stimulate neurogenesis as preparation for future cognitive challenges” [2].
While new cells in the brain might not have a direct benefit, Kirste explained that these cells seemed to become functioning neurons, “We saw that silence is really helping the new generated cells to differentiate into neurons, and integrate into the system” [3].
A Mental Workout With Some Quiet Time
Human brains are vastly different than mouse brains, but our situations do have some similarities. In the wild, mice are constantly using their senses to alert them of any potential dangers, hearing being one of their most important senses. Humans don’t have to worry about any predators, but we are constantly tuned into the world around us. We are constantly checking our phones, or looking at a screen, praying we didn’t miss an update, message, or viral video.
That’s why it’s so important for us to take time to find silence everyday and disconnect from all the distractions that are around us. While Kirtse admits that her findings are preliminary, they could have unexpected applications. Diseases like dementia or depression have been connected to decreasing rates of neurogenesis in the hippocampus. Kirste hopes that if a link between silence and neurogenesis can be applied to humans, neurologists could hopefully explore silence as a form of therapy.
Getting a little quiet time is a lot easier than you might think. Workout your brain with silence and avoid the distractions that can stop your brain from growing.
- Meditation: No surprises here, meditating is a great way to block out distractions and it’s a great chance to perform a little self-care.
- Nature Walks: Taking a walk through the woods helps us separate from the concrete jungle and all it represents and get back to our roots.
- Sensory Deprivation Tanks: If you’ve never heard of these, it’s basically a pool that you float in, with all noise and light kept out. It’s like meditating times 10.
- Black Out Hours: Keep a schedule in your home with a block of time when all electronics are off, unplugged, and tuned out so there is no chance of distractions.
