Silence that heals

The Beneficial Silence

A couple of years ago, a good friend told me about a man far up in northern Sweden who sold silence. I don't remember if he allowed visitors to camp or if he rented out small cabins on his large land areas. But his business idea was to create a recreation area for people with nothing but the sounds of nature and silence. My friend also told me that it was apparently a very profitable business idea since he was fully booked practically all year round.

Constant noise overloads and stresses our nervous system

Silence is something that is very rare today. Our lives are filled with noise practically 24/7. Not many people live today in places where they can enjoy total silence. It is a scarce commodity that also results in us being drained of energy when constant noise, intentionally or unintentionally, constantly steals our attention. Our brain and nervous system become completely overloaded and our bodies send signals in the form of stress, mental illness, inflammation and cardiovascular diseases, which say "I can't take it anymore!". Our society today has a noise level six times higher than it did 100 years ago. That's saying something.

Sound is measured in decibels (dB) and a normal conversation tone is around 60 dB. Traffic from a big city street is around 75 dB and the sound of a train is around 85 dB. Generally speaking, it can be said that noise below 70 dB is considered acceptable and not disturbing to most people. 70-80 dB is a frequency that, if persistent, and especially in a place where silence is expected, can be perceived as disturbing. When we get up to 80 dB, it starts to affect our well-being, our concentration and our sleep, and above 85 dB it becomes harmful to our hearing during prolonged exposure.

But sounds do not have to be loud to be harmful. Low-frequency noise is just as harmful if we are exposed to it for long periods. Being exposed to disturbing sounds for a long time can result in us suffering from sound stress or sound fatigue. That is, we react to sounds that are not usually experienced as disturbing. A kind of sound exhaustion. How sensitive we are as an individual also plays a role. But if we suffer from sound fatigue and continue to expose ourselves to the same disturbing sounds, there is a risk that we will suffer from both concentration difficulties and sleep disorders, and in the long term cardiovascular disease, metabolic diseases and mental illness.

The sounds that you grew up with, and the habits regarding sound and silence, often become the yardstick that shows what is okay and works for you. If you are autistic or highly sensitive, there is also an increased sensitivity to different sensory impressions where both sound and light are factors that can create stress and affect concentration. Our perception of sound, and what is disturbing, is individual. That is why it may be worth looking at several aspects regarding silence and how it affects us.

A higher volume of sound in our world

When I, as a highly sensitive person, moved from an urban environment to my current home in a rural municipality almost two decades ago, whose population doubles during the summer months with all the summer guests and holiday homes, there was still the possibility of silence. I moved in in late autumn, and I remember how I even overslept a few mornings to work, when my home was completely dark and quiet. A fluffy pink dream for someone who is highly sensitive – dark and quiet = fantastic sleep. The first few years were good, of course there was a noticeable change in energy during the holiday season, but then somehow the calm was able to return. A completely different rhythm. The last decade has been different. Perhaps a lot took off during the Corona epidemic, when there was a large increase in property construction. When I look back on the last decade, there aren't many gaps of silence in my everyday life or weekend that don't include land preparation, logging, heavy vehicles, nail guns, chainsaws, saw blades, blasting, screaming children, jet skis, music playing outside and much, much more. A big difference. So even though I haven't lived here for 100 years (not in this lifetime anyway), I can see that in the almost two decades I've lived here in my little corner of the world, the volume of sound in our surroundings is increasing. What does the sound environment look like in your home, where you live? Is there room for peace and quiet when you need it? After all, our homes are the place where we should be able to get nourishment, feel calm and rest. Some time ago, I read a blog by one of Sweden's largest construction companies, where the topic was precisely silence. It was written: "But silence is also a quality of life that is about us being able to live our lives in our homes without violating someone else's silence. Silence is a prerequisite for a sustainable modern life."

I think it is an interesting phenomenon in our society today how we have somehow lost respect and consideration for each other, and that we do not see and understand what can be considered disturbing. Or are we so "sound-deadened" and already damaged that we do not see or perceive that we are all ourselves a contributor to the noise pollution around us. When and why did people start stubbornly talking on their mobile phones with the speaker on, for example? In shops, on public transport, in restaurants? Our digital life is buzzing, bleeping and blobbing everywhere, where everyone turns up the volume even more to be heard in the noise that surrounds us. You don't have to be highly sensitive or autistic to get tired of it. Not to mention how our beloved animals experience all these sounds with a hearing that is generally 3-4 times better than ours and also takes in a completely different frequency spectrum.

Many are afraid of silence

A lot of people avoid silence, simply because they are afraid of it. Silence forces us to reflect, look and feel inward, and pay attention to things about ourselves and our lives that we don't always feel comfortable with. Things that we really want to change or improve, or are simply afraid to see. Silence can be experienced as uncertain ground because it makes us open and vulnerable to ourselves! But something as simple as silence can also open us up to see our inner depths and create a whole new understanding of ourselves. Silence is actually a fantastic tool for our personal development. With silence as our only company, our heart takes a leap of joy as we suddenly hear all the loving guidance it wants to give us.

So what does silence do to us?

After just two minutes of silence, we begin to relax, tension decreases, more than if we were to listen to calm relaxation music. The levels of stress hormones, adrenaline and cortisol begin to drop and we improve our concentration and gain better mental clarity. If we create space for silence for two hours a day, we also support our cognitive ability as the Hippocampus, the center of the brain, is stimulated to form new cells. This means that silence strengthens our learning ability, but also memories and emotions. Being in silence helps our brain to relax and when we are in a state where our thoughts can wander freely, we have an easier time processing experiences but are also stimulated to become more creative and we become better problem solvers. It creates a deeper connection with our inner self. Being safe in silence can be something that needs practice. But the more we practice, the easier it gets and when we have done it for a while, I can promise that it will eventually become a little addictive. Silence is yours as your own little Holy Grail, which gives you inner peace and mindfulness. A path to healing, creating, growing and feeling whole.