The cacophony of chattering voices echoed throughout the airport terminal as I sat there awaiting my turn to board the flight. No amount of music on my headphones could drown out the multiple cellphone conversations at full volume, the several conversations where individuals sounded as though they were yelling at each other, though sitting a foot apart, and, of course, the plethora of people watching movies on their cellphones and devices at full volume without headphones. I was strangely excited to have the loud hum of the plane drown this all out. Remember when silence was a normal part of daily life?
Besides the lack of respect for those around us and some fundamental decency, the current noise invasion in our lives is more than just annoying, it may promote the release of stress hormones, increase blood pressure, and heart rate. Noise interferes with our ability to solve and complete tasks, while children exposed to noise do worse in school. Silence stimulates the production of neurons in mouse studies, while noise inhibits it. Noise pollution may even negatively impact our cardiovascular system. Silence is a normal and required part of our lives, yet seems to be a rare commodity these days.
“Unnecessary noise, then, is the most cruel absence of care which can be inflicted either on sick or well.”
–Florence Nightengale
Our brains require silence, they must be shut off periodically to be replenished and recharged. While our brains require exercise—thinking, reading, deeply contemplating—they also require rest. Rest means no brain-atrophying devices, no scrolling on your phone, no podcasts. They require silence. While you are guaranteed to be inundated with excessive noise in public these days, if you are not giving your brain some silence in the home, it may be time to rethink your actions. That is, if you’ll actually spend some time in silence to think about it.
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