AND considered a natural form of anti-stress, a way to find calm and relax. Silence is a real panacea. But difficult to put into practice, especially in an era in which we are not only immersed in noise but you are also afraid of finding yourself in silence, listening to your own thoughts. Yet it is perhaps the cheapest “practice” that we can all try with real benefits.
Silence, an anti-stress practice within everyone’s reach
According to a study conducted by Sanford Health, the English non-profit healthcare provider, lovers of silence are above all Millennials. Considered as a “wellness generation”, those born in the 1980s have a great propensity to stay silent, understood as a beneficial practice for their mental health. This is confirmed by a survey conducted which highlighted that 57% of young people spend over 100 dollars a month on so-called silent retreats. In other words, alongside jogging, yoga and pilates, the whole beneficial craze for vitamin C, c‘there is an entire segment of the world’s population that loves to be silent. A habit that has involved many celebrities, Gwyneth Paltrow, always in the front row, but also Natalie Portman and Oprah Winfrey, giving life to silent retreat mania.
A practice, that of silence, which also finds support from the World Health Organization. According to the WHO, in fact, being constantly and daily immersed in noise, from TV to music to city noise, damages your health.
It is the so-called noise pollution that a report fromEEA, the European Environment Agency, he tried to explain with his research. It has in fact been highlighted that 113 million Europeans are exposed to traffic noise levels of at least 55 decibels even in the evening and at night. Not only that, 50% of city dwellers are exposed to noise above 55 decibels.
The damages? As the EEA explains, being exposed long-term to excessive environmental noise causes 12,000 premature deaths and every year there are 48 thousand new cases of ischemic heart disease across the continent. It is also estimated that 22 million people suffer from cornic discomfort and 6 and a half million have severe chronic sleep disorders.
A moment to find yourself. Without stopping communicating
«There is no doubt that There are positive aspects of silence, especially in an era where we are constantly bombarded by sounds, noises and words. Silence must be understood as a precious moment to find oneself, to think, to gather strength after a particularly stressful moment, silence to listen to your body and the signals it sends us. In short, a time for themselves» explains the doctor Carolina Rizzi, psychologist, psychotherapist, consultant and EMDR facilitator which continues «However, silence is not for everyone. Both children and adults often reject it for fear of thinking and having to feel their own emotions, which is why many don’t know how to handle it. Also, silence it can also be associated with emptiness, a distressing idea for many. The refusal of silence very often also happens in groups. We are so eager to talk that in the end we don’t listen to our interlocutor: in this sense silence is very important.”
Above all also because, while you are silent you continue to communicate. Suffice it to say that «for 55% of people non-verbal communication also applies, therefore the look, the expressiveness of the face and the posture have a lot of weight. The rest of the communication is based on the voice, 38%, and on words, 7%.
The 7 benefits of silence to rediscover yourself and improve your health
The benefits of silence are many, highlighted by various studies and research. For example:
1. Silence helps you find your inner peace, to calm the nervous system and deal with oneself.
2. Lowers your stress level decreasing cortisol and therefore bad thoughts
3. It also reduces the risk of heart attackbecause it lowers blood pressure
4. Increases mental and brain functions, as well as the capacity for introspection. In both cases, daily meditation is very useful.
5. It promotes concentration, improving the quality of work
6. Train your memory so as to keep the mind young
7. It is an effective way for a digital detox.
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