You’re not to blame; especially this month. While the holiday season can be a joyous and warm occasion, with family gatherings, the exchanging of gifts, religious services and other traditions that bring loved ones together, this is also a time of year when the volume of our daily household soundtrack is automatically amplified.
This is especially true not only because many of us host out-of-town guests who are visiting for the holidays, but also because our children are home from school on vacation. Playing outdoors often isn’t an option due to the cold weather and so, in typical contemporary households, out come the noisy electronics – video games, techno toys, the computer, talking dolls, iPods, MP3 players. These, coupled with blaring TV sets, the phone ringing, people conversing and street traffic, add to a deafening exposure to noise that can often wreak havoc on our nervous systems.
Silence gives the brain a chance to rest from the constant cacophony of sounds that it processes every day.
Reducing noise around the home isn’t only beneficial for adults, but also for children. A leading expert on environmental stress, Gary Evans, Cornell University environmental psychologist, has done extensive studies on children and the effects of their physical environment, including noise exposure. He found that long-term memory and cognitive development are affected by chronic and acute noise exposure. Children exposed to persistent loud noises also have increased blood pressure and stress hormones.
The Silent Prescription
But there’s a painless antidote, which is free and can be put into effect immediately. Go into your bedroom and shut the door. Better still, when there’s no one in the house, try this simple solution: Turn off the TV, radio, computer, phone,
iPod and any other noisy electronic gizmo that’s part of your normal life. Then sit in complete silence for 10 minutes. Just sit, take deep breaths and take in the hush that blankets you.
Are you uncomfortable? Do you feel guilty about sitting around when there’s so much to do? Does the sound of silence feel weird? Or, do you find the break refreshing? Is the quiet a welcome relief from the sounds that surround
your life? Is it a nice change to hear your thoughts without distractions?
Assessing how you feel is a crucial part of this experiment because many of us are so used to living in audio clutter that silence is a foreign concept. But there are many benefits to taking time out, even if it’s just a few minutes, and to sitting in a state of complete quietness.
Reducing Stimulation
“I call it a time just to be, where we’re not depending on external stimulation,” says Shibani Ray-Mazumder, Ph.D., of Life & Mind Matters, a stress management therapeutic practice in South Setauket. “We’re living in a time where
there’s so much stimulation — computers, video games, the TV, music. We’re on e-mail, the phone, Blackberries. We’re constantly on, absorbing information, giving information. And we forget the importance of just being.”
It’s important to just be in calm silence sometimes, just to reenergize, reconnect with yourself, to give yourself time to hear your own thoughts, Dr. Ray-Mazumder says. Silence gives the brain a chance to rest from the constant cacophony of sounds that it processes every day. At the same time, it allows us to listen to our inner voice and identify potential fears and anxiety, set goals, make plans and even appreciate the joy that’s in our lives. That sense of clarity
that can come with silent contemplation and reflection is priceless.
But unplugging has other benefits. It can also lower the body’s stress levels. Studies have shown that when people are stressed, their Cortisol levels go up, says Dr. Ray-Mazumder. Cortisol is the hormone responsible for our “fight or flight” response, which is why it’s often called the stress hormone. And when at normal levels, it’s useful in regulating our metabolism, immune system and blood pressure, among other benefits. However, when Cortisol levels are often elevated and for prolonged periods of time, we’re left in a chronic state of stress, which can cause all sorts of harmful effects on our bodies, such as disease, fatigue, blood sugar imbalance, high blood pressure . . . and a plethora of other physiological reactions.
But by simply insisting on silence for a few minutes a day, we can give ourselves a much-needed time-out from everyday stressors. So “sit quietly, take a deep breath. Get in connection with yourself again,” Dr. Ray-Mazumder says.
Silence is, after all, golden. Our prescription? Silence. Take once a day. Repeat as necessary.
Freelance journalist Claudia Gryvatz Copquin prefers to work in complete silence, which helps her to concentrate and to maintain a calm demeanor under deadlines.