Silence

After publishing my last few blog posts on communication, I happened to hear a podcast on silence. I thought it was an interesting counterpoint to my focus, and I found myself feeling more relaxed and energized, even restored, afterwards.

That shouldn’t surprise me: high noise levels have been demonstrated to cause stress, decrease concentration, and even contribute to a variety of health conditions. Not coincidentally, noise can add to anxiety, depression, sleep disruption, and suicidality. On the other hand, silence has been shown to improve our health in multiple ways.

Silence and noise pollution

Silence as it was discussed in the podcast isn’t the absence of all sound, but just the absence of human noise.

There was a lot of public discussion around the lack of such silence, what was termed noise pollution, back in the 1970s. I remember when the Noise Control Act was signed by President Nixon in 1972, followed by the Quiet Communities Act of 1978, but I didn’t notice when the Environmental Protection Agency defunded those in 1982. After that, the topic fell off my radar. I don’t remember the last time I heard any talk about noise pollution.

Before listening to the podcast, I would have said I spend a lot of my time in silence, reading, writing, and doing other quiet work. Now, I realize that’s not true: I almost never experience real silence, I just tune everything out.

As I started writing this, I paused for a minute and listened to my surroundings. I have the door open to my patio and, although I don’t hear any people outside right this minute, I can hear traffic in the distance, my upstairs neighbors’ clothes dryer humming, and the sound of my refrigerator running.

Then there’s the noise I make. The most obvious symptom of my not-completely-controlled Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is my constant humming, along with finger and toe tapping. (I’ve been humming “Four Brothers” from 1947 all day.[1] Although that’s one of my favorite old tunes, any song will drive me nuts after eight hours of humming it incessantly.) My kids used to complain about my humming to myself, but the songs continue in my head even when I stop humming them out loud for a while.

And, finally, like many musicians, I have severe tinnitus – ringing in the ears. Most people assume that’s a result of years playing bass in country and rock bands, but it really dates back to my years playing in jazz big bands. Those are much louder than most people realize.[2]

Healing silence

There are different kinds of silence, but not all of them are healing.

Although I’m not aware of the noises around me while I’m working, the research demonstrates that my body is and responds to them.

There are ways to reduce the stress associated with those ambient noises, though, and virtually every spiritual tradition includes practices to reduce our internal noise: vows of silence, mindful meditation, and other types of silent contemplation.

The most healing form of silence is the quiet of nature. Even if we’re still able to hear human activity in the distance, the sounds of nature seem to trigger an automatic relaxation response in us, similar to the feeling of respite that just looking at natural greenery can bring.

I occasionally watch ASMR-type videos with natural sounds: People walking in fresh snow, forest sounds, rain and thunderstorms. When my cat, Zacky, was ill, I used to watch Cat TV videos with him, enjoying the bird songs and sounds of squirrels and mice, while he was enthralled and alert. But nothing beats the real thing.

As I was writing that, I could hear the crunch of footsteps on snow in my mind. That's one of my favorite sounds.

So much of the time I’m focused on things we can do to destress, increase our well-being, and improve our resilience – even meditation can feel like doing something, following rules and exerting effort. Silence is different: it can restore us with no work on our part, as long as we put ourselves in a quiet environment. It can take time, but it will happen.

Silence isn’t always easy

Most of us aren’t used to being alone with silence, and we often use noise and chatter to avoid unpleasant thoughts or feelings. As with mindful meditation, it’s common for our minds to keep revving, distracting us from the present, away from the peace of silence.

Sometimes I suggest to people that they treat those interruptions like clouds, letting them pop up and then drift away. It can help to label them or to consciously redirect our minds away from them. With silence, especially silence in nature, the most effective way I’ve found to deal with such difficulties is to focus on the subtle sounds around m.

When I’m in nature, I like to listen for the closest sound of an animal near me, like a squirrel in the bushes or a bird singing in a nearby tree. Other times, I’ll do a 360-degree survey of the sounds coming from all directions, such as the subtle rustling of leaves in the breeze. Attending to the near silence of the natural world almost always quiets our minds.

It’s also extremely important to remember to breathe. Sometimes when we’re focusing or trying to stay quiet, our breath becomes shallow or stops altogether. When we find that happening, it helps to take a deep breath, perhaps stretching a little or releasing the tension wherever we hold it in our bodies – our shoulders, jaw, eyes, wherever. Even the sound of our own deep breaths can be calming.

I just had to pause for a deep breath, and I bet a lot of people reading this did, too.

As I was doing that, I found myself listening to the world around me. Traffic in the distance with the whine of a truck shifting gears. Now, an airplane is passing overhead.

I stretch, take another breath, and feel a little more at peace.

Listen to the podcast I heard at On Point: Can we save the quietest places in the world? or read a transcript at https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2024/09/10/quiet-nature-wilderness-matt-mikkelsen-soundscapes.

Or listen to a random forest somewhere in the world on Tree.FM.

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For more information, see The Psychology of Silence.

If you or someone you know needs help, call 988 for any mental health or substance use crisis.

You can also call 1-800-273-8255 for the?National Suicide Prevention Lifeline?or?text HOME to 741-741 for support from the?Crisis Text Line. The?National Helpline for alcohol and drug abuse?is at 1-800-662-4357. All three are free and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year.

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This piece is not intended as medical or legal advice. Always speak with your medical provider before initiating a diet or exercise regimen or if you have medical questions. If you have legal questions, consult with an attorney.

This article represents my own opinions as a non-physician and does not reflect the opinions or positions of my employer.

[1]???? The song was identified with the Woody Herman big bands, which performed from 1936 to around 1987, even touring with Led Zeppelin in 1969. Here’s the original version featuring with Zoot Sims, Serge Chaloff, Herbie Steward and Stan Getz, as well as a recording from 1976, featuring the composer, Jimmy Giuffre, along with Stan Getz, Al Cohn, and Zoot Sims. I saw Woody Herman and the Young Thundering Herd the next year in Seattle, meeting my musical idol, Bruce Johnstone, after the show.

[2]???? Here’s a recording from 1979 featuring a young Kenny G. I apologize for the lousy sound quality – hand-held tape recorders were lousy back then.