Last Updated on 2016-05-19 , 1:53 pm
Back in 2011, a campaign was conducted by the Finnish Tourism Board to promote Finland as a tourism destination and they went about it in an interesting way. Due to Finland’s quiet environment, a far cry from the exciting tourist spots around the world where tourists are guaranteed a fun time when they’re there, they promoted ‘silence’ as part of their marketing product.
You may think it’s a crazy idea but in actual fact, it makes a lot of sense when you really come to think about it. According to science, silence is essential to our brain’s development and since we’re living in a continuously developing world where peace and quiet can be very scarce, it makes sense to make our ways to quiet places to rejuvenate and refresh ourselves instead of going to party hot spots. Here’s why silence is the root of all brilliance.
Silence Regenerates Brain Cells
In 2013, a study was done on some mice to see how noise and silence affects the brain. Silence was supposed to be a control factor in the experiment but to the scientists’ amazement, the mice actually developed new cells in their hippocampus (the part of the brain that’s associated with learning, emotion and memory) when exposed to silence for two hours a day. A researcher of the study even stated that silence helped the generated cells to develop into neurons and integrate into the system; which simply means that silence help to grow the brain–literally. Now, that’s just mind-blowing.
Silence Relieves Tension and Stress
Noise is known to have physical effect on our brain and release stress hormones. It’s probably no surprise that people living in the busy city tend to have higher levels of stress compared to those who don’t. A professor of human ecology, Gary W. Evans stated that even if noise does not produce any hearing damage, it can still be a hazard to health. In contrary to noise, silence however relieves tension and stress in the brain.
Silence Stimulates Internalizing and Evaluating Information of the Brain
A study done in 2001 discovered that even when our brain is resting and in sleep-mode, it is continuously internalizing and evaluating information actively. Besides that, when the brain is in its default mode, it is able to reflect on profound matters in an imaginative way which helps us to process things better. Maybe that’s why we’re sent to a quiet corner after getting into petty fights and arguments with our siblings when we were still kids–to reflect. Or maybe that’s just me.
Silence Replenishes the Brain’s Cognitive Resources
Studies have found that noise actually harms task performance or duties at both work and school. Noise is also said to be a possible cause of increase in mistakes made as well as decrease in motivation. Other than that, noise also affects cognitive functions such as problem solving, memory and also reading attention. Silence however, helps in recovering some of these decreased cognitive abilities.
So the next time you’re deciding between going out for a party on a Friday night or simply staying at home, it doesn’t hurt to occasionally spend some “me” time alone at home!
Top Image: Tiko Aramyan / Shutterstock.com
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