#ThinkfullyHabit: Hush
It’s well known that being exposed to lots of noise is harmful – it raises blood pressure, increases stress levels and hampers performance. However, in contrast, the benefits of silence for our brains are more recently being established.
When we pause in complete silence and stop placing demands on our brain, it allows it to relax, wander and take the space in order to solve problems and create new ideas.
Silence is one of the most simple and under-appreciated productivity tools at our disposal. Yet, how often do we use it?
“Silence is a source of great strength. ”
WHY?
Being in complete silence and putting tasks and distractions 'on pause’ allows the brain to return to its normal state. Research suggests that our brains never really stop or go quiet - instead, they keep working, but in a different way.
A 2006 study looked at the impact of music on the brain*. It found that the silent pauses in between the music had an even greater effect than the music itself. One of their key findings was that the effect is actually heightened by the contrasts between the noise, then the silence. And we’re not talking about lengthy silences. Two minutes is enough.
The implications? We can use silence strategically. It’s the sudden onset of silence that can be most helpful. As the neuroscientist Michael Wehr, University of Oregon, says, “When a sound suddenly stops, that’s an event just as surely as when a sound starts.” So, next time you get to the end of a noisy video call, come off a team meeting or finish listening to a presentation, instead of jumping straight to your messages or picking up your phone, sit in silence for a minute or two. That’s all. The only thing to do is absolutely nothing. Even if you’re one of those people who never has enough time, this isn’t about trying to find lots of extra time in your busy day. It’s not even about being particularly disciplined or finding the space to meditate. It’s simply giving yourself a minute or two of silence in between tasks.
In silence you’re giving your brain the space for inspiration to bubble up and a moment for it to meander through ideas and connect seemingly disconnected threads together. It may feel unproductive but it could be one of the most productive things you do. In the absence of sensory input, the brain remains active and dynamic, in a different way. The composer Claude Debussy was onto something when he said, “Music is the silence between the notes.” For our brains, great ideas happen in the silence between the noises and the tasks.
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