What does SILENCE do to your brain?

The value of silence is felt by anyone who has tried it at some point in time.

Science shows that silence is beneficial to the brain. Here are a number of ways in which silence helps your brain.

Silence does relieve stress and tension

Did you know that noise pollution has been found to be a major cause of high blood pressure and heart attacks? It also acts negatively on your overall health. Your stress levels will likely increase if you are exposed to noise.

In the same way that noise can cause tension and stress, silence releases tension from the brain.

According to research, sitting in silence for about two minutes can be more beneficial than listening to ‘relaxing music’ because of the way it changes blood circulation and pressure in the brain.

Silence helps us access the default mode network of our brains

When we daydream or sit in silence and let our minds wander we activate what scientists refer to as the “Default Mode Network.” When we let our brains become idle for some time, we are able to access our inner emotions, ideas, thoughts and memories.

Switching into this network enables us to get more meaning from previous experiences, reflect on our emotional and mental statuses as well as being more creative.

For this to occur, we need to eliminate the interruptions that make us concentrate on the shallow surfaces of the mind. Silence is one way of achieving this.

The mind’s default mode network allows us to think creatively and deeply.

Silence refreshes our mental resources

At any point, your brain is processing sensory inputs thrown in from all angles. If we escape from all these disruptions, the brain is able to focus on restoring itself.

Today, we all live very demanding lives. This puts a huge load on the part of the brain which enables us to make decisions and think critically.

As a result, our attentional resources get dried up. We may get distracted and end up fatigued mentally. It is difficult to focus, solve problems or come up with new ideas in this state.

In a silent environment, the brain can easily restore its resources. The quiet stillness that you find when sitting or walking in nature can influence the brain to let down its sensory guard.

Some findings also suggest that silence could offer therapy for conditions such as Alzheimer’s condition where there are decreased neurons being generated. When silence prevails, the brain is in a better position to form new cells for neurons, which are cells that are responsible for the formation of emotions.