Scientists affirm that a moment of silence allows you to restore attention and brain cells and considerably lowers stress levels.

Leo Chalupa, an American neurobiologist, affirms that human beings need a day of complete silence to achieve optimal brain function, according to the Very Interesting magazine. Our mind should rest from the continuous bombardment it suffers, he defends, spaces could be created for that disconnection from techno-stress, beneficial for the mind.

This scientist is one of the many apologists for silence, supported by numerous investigations. A recent study indicates that a time without auditory stimuli relaxes as much or more than listening to quiet music. The change in cardiovascular, cerebral and respiratory variables is similar. In addition, silence recharges our brain, since the excess of stimuli leaves the prefrontal cortex, in charge of reasoning, without resources. Without silence, we can only respond minute by minute: higher thought ceases to exist and is only reactivated in the absence of stimuli. In fact, that regenerative effect could be physical.

A study from the University of Dresden (Germany) recently showed that two hours of daily silence lead to the development of new cells in the hippocampus of mice that served as experimental subjects. The Universia digital site, which deals with science and knowledge issues, also publishes reasons for the benefit of silence.

Silence relieves stress.

According to Dr. Craig Zimring, noise pollution has led to elevated blood pressure and increased heart rate. Unnecessary noise can cause discomfort and loss of sleep. Just as too much noise can cause stress and tension, research has shown that silence has the opposite effect – releasing stress and tension from the brain and body. According to a 2006 study published in the journal Heart, based on changes in blood pressure and blood flow in the brain, two minutes of silence is more relaxing than listening to two minutes of relaxing music.

Silence restores attention.

Once the attention resources found in the prefrontal part of the brain are exhausted, the person becomes distracted, mentally fatigued and has difficulty concentrating, making decisions, or generating new ideas. But according to attention restoration theory, the brain can restore its limited cognitive resources when we are in environments with lower levels of sensory input than usual. In the silence or quiet of walking alone in nature, for example, the brain can let down its sensory guard, so to speak. Calmness can regenerate brain cells According to a 2013 study published in the journal Brain, where different types of noise were compared, two hours of daily silence allows the development of new cells in the hippocampus (a region of the brain associated with learning, memory and emotions).

In addition, research supports that silence can be therapeutic for diseases such as depression and Alzheimer’s, which are associated with decreased regeneration of neurons in the hippocampus. It is interesting that through centuries of history various philosophical and religious currents have validated the act of silence and silent retreat as a productive practice, for example, the Catholic orders that take a vow of silence, as well as the Asian monks who they retire to spaces where city noises do not abound, and the Judeo-Christian practice of a day of rest in which the “worldly noise”, not only sound, propitiates a break for the human soul are manifestations claimed by scientists who study the subject. In fact, silence and quiet zones are becoming a kind of luxury in the world of marketing, and a country like Finland, once famous for its few events and the supposed boredom that characterizes it, can carry out tourist campaigns based on what It is revalued today as a precious asset, not being invaded by the noise of postmodern cities.