I vividly remember the fear I felt when faced with the empty nest syndrome. It wasn’t just that my kids would be gone, I would be alone. Alone. Alone. Alone. In silence.
As it turned out, silence was the best part. It was regenerative. It was healing. It was… awesome. And the silence sparked the most creative period of my life.
A 2013 study may explain why. Imke Kirste, Ph.D., a regenerative biologist from Duke University, studied the effects of different sounds on cells in the hippocampus region of the brain in mice. The sounds being tested were white noise, piano music by Mozart, and pup calls (baby mouse cries). Two hours a day of silence was supposed to be the control. Instead, silence became the surprise trophy winner. Silence caused an increase in new neurons. Sounds did not.
So… silence is more than golden. It feeds the brain.
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- The Glymphatic System – How Insomnia Leads to a Filthy Mind
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- Mental Health, Physical Health & B Vitamins – Nature’s Valium
- Yoga – A Beginner’s Guide
- What Causes Chronic Inflammation, and How To Stop It For Good
Sources:
- Is silence golden? Effects of auditory stimuli and their absence on adult hippocampal neurogenesis – Brain Structure and Function
- Science Says Silence Is Much More Important To Our Brains Than We Think – Lifehack
- This Is Your Brain on Silence – Nautilus