Silence is essential for our brain, body and well-being.

“Noise causes stress, especially if we have little or no control over it,” says Mathias Basner, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine who specializes in sound processing. “An indicator that something is too loud is when you start changing your behavior. You may avoid outside areas, or close the windows, pause your conversation, move your bedroom to a different area or install insulation.” 

Unwanted sound produces a stress response in the body, activating the “fight-or-flight” reaction and prompting the amygdala, the brain’s emotional processing center. This sends a signal to release stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol, which in turn increases heart rate, raises blood pressure and can contribute to inflammation.

Noise also disrupts sleep, which is vital for brain functioning and restoring the body. Sleep helps brain cells communicate with each other and “washes away” the toxins in our brain that build up during the day.

During sleep, our brain has an auditory surveillance mechanism that scans our environment for threats while hearing and processing every single noise during the night as it’s also renewing our immune system.

Loud, sudden noises like speeding cars, motorcycles and barking dogs can jolt us awake and hinder the brains's ability to accomplish its work, damaging our concentration and cognition during the day. In some cases, blood pressure can even stay elevated throughout the night.  

Nurse Florence Nightingale wrote, “Unnecessary noise is the most cruel absence of care that can be inflicted on the sick or well. Every careless clatter or banal bit of banter can be a source of alarm, distress and loss of sleep for recovering patients.” She emphasized that quiet is as important for healing as cleanliness. 

Silence Nourishes the Brain

Duke University researchers have shown that two hours of silence a day spurs new brain cell growth in the hippocampus, the region of the brain associated with memory. “We saw that silence really helped the new generated cells to differentiate into neurons, and integrate into the system,” says former Duke University regenerative biologist Imke Kirste.

The brain needs silence to heal, regenerate and thrive.

The absence of noise sharpens our ability to think, learn and discover. Silence improves focus and attentiveness to our surroundings and the subtle forces that power our lives—and, in fact, the entire cosmos.

“When you go into a forest and get very quiet, you’ll come to understand that you’re connected with everything,” wrote author Alan Watts. “Every tiny insect that’s buzzing is a messenger, and that insect is connected to human beings everywhere.”

By feeding and nourishing the senses with quietude, we recognize the sacred holiness of the entire planet: the opening of a flower; the billions of cells that it takes right now to inhale and exhale; and the smooth sensation of running water. We simply become more attuned to everything.

So what counts is the quality of our surroundings and relationships because where there’s peace, there’s healing. The body can only heal when it’s relaxed.  

On an emotional level, silence helps us develop the capacity to be fully present—and really listen deeply—with our whole self, in nonjudgment—to ourselves and others. 

The more present we are for ourselves, the more present we can be for others and the more beneficial we can be to humanity. As we hear each other—and ourselves—into being. “True 100 percent listening is an act of worship,” said author and poet John O’Donohue.

Indeed, silence is the place of our truest deepest self. With quiet and solitude, we’re releasing the distractions that take us away from our deepest self and we’re making space to hear our inner wisdom.

“We need silence to be able to touch our souls,” said nun Mother Teresa. “See how nature—trees, flowers, grass—grows in silence. See the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence,” she noted. “God cannot be found in noise and restlessness.”

The soul knows what it needs to do in this lifetime. And it speaks at every moment. All we have to do is be silent—and listen.