Sometimes, five minutes of silence is enough to regain calm, balance, temperance, just a brief moment of peace, away from noise and endless conversations, and suddenly our brains start working on another level, this is what several studies reveal: human Beings also need silence to create new connections and brain cells.
The subject is certainly very interesting. We all know, in a way, that enjoying a chosen moment of silence is an act of great therapeutic power. So, if there is one thing that has also been demonstrated by various experiments, is that subjecting the human being to a state of complete isolation and strict silence for days or weeks usually has its side effects.
“The principle of wisdom is silence”. ? Pythagoras?
As humans we are social beings and we need interactions and environments full of stimuli to live, to grow, because just as we need these scenarios full of dialogue, music and social sounds, our brain also demands its moments of silence. it’s not a whim, it’s a physiological principle, like eating or sleeping.
In fact, we could say, almost without fear of making mistakes, that at different levels of Maslow’s needs pyramid, silence should be one of its most fundamental links.
Is it true that five minutes of silence can have so many benefits?The reality is that this is the case, and that is not our opinion, nor that of a personal growth guru, so revealed by a study published in the journal. “Brain, Structure and Function”. The neuroscience of silence in the age of noise is gaining increasing weight and relevance, to the point that tourism aimed at facilitating contact with people of this dimension is gradually proliferating.
The famous retreats of silence? They are already combined with organized trips to countries such as Finland, places that have an ideal environment so that we can fully embrace this immobility, this absence of noise, sounds and urbanity. Well, before we get carried away with these proposals, we have to apply the logic. You don’t have to go far to give this gift to your brain.
We live in a world saturated with decibels. Tv, our favorite music groups playing headphones as we walk down the street, traffic, conversations, background music in shops and supermarkets, etc. We live in cities where there is no silence, where sound governs life and our consumption.
Well, if we could enjoy five minutes of complete silence a day, several things would happen, the first is that new cells would develop in the hippocampus, this area of the brain is linked to our memory and emotions, the second is that these cells would develop allows us to think more clearly and connect better with our environment and with ourselves.
These data are interesting. As we already know, there are many areas of the brain associated with emotional sensitivity and empathy. Therefore, when these areas are damaged or have little interconnection, our empathy is reduced. In addition, we become slower in making decisions and show less interest in what is happening around us.
Enjoying moments of peace or giving us five minutes of silence a day improves the activity of the right supramarginal convolution of our brain, which improves the ability to be emotional and empathize with others.
When our environment has an excessive sound charge the brain amygdala is activated, this small structure is like our danger and threat detector, he interprets if there is any risk around us and if we have to flee, as normal as loud noises or even if it seems like a simple traffic noise, this area of the brain is something we have to defend ourselves from , so it generates a stress response by stimulating the release of cortisol.
In this way, we can already guess what can bring us five minutes of silence, this is what a study published in the American Psychological Association tells us: silence is not only a great way to reduce stress, thanks to it we release serotonin, endorphins, oxytocin, etc.
It also improves our sense of well-being and, as a result, we feel safer and more focused when making decisions, we also cannot overlook its positive effect on cognitive processes, memory is strengthened, we focus better attention, we process information faster and in addition, consciousness is “awakened”. We feel more connected to the present and prepared for what may happen.
In conclusion, as Friedrich Nietzche said, “The way of all great things goes through silence. “So let’s go to silence more often. Let us learn to turn off, from time to time, the button of our restless outer worlds to make the necessary tour of our inner universes. When we leave them, we won’t be the same.