TOHave you ever listened to the silence? No, right? For one simple reason: absolute silence does not exist. In any situation, even in the middle of nowhere, there is always some kind of sound.
There are several in the world ‘rooms of silence’, places totally isolated from an acoustic point of view, where the only sounds are those of your own body. Those who enter cannot stay more than a few minutes, then feel the desire to escape.
Often, however, the need is felt escape even from the most common everyday situations that keep annoying and harmful noise levels constant. Life is increasingly frenetic, made up of rushes, commitments, deadlines and even a continuous one loud chatter which makes silence something increasingly rare. After all, the English word that translates the Italian noise is noicewhich comes from the Latin nausea. The etymology gives a good idea of the annoyance caused by useless noises, already very unwelcome in antiquity.
Silence: a benefit also for health
Even science has now demonstrated how much silence – understood as the absence of background noise – is beneficial for both body and mind. It helps to recharge the organism and, in general, to favor its completeness relaxationeven at work, better than any coffee break.
Not only; it is proved that silence positively affects creativity, concentration and emotional management. It puts us in greater contact with ourselves, prepares us to listen to the world around us, regulates blood pressure levels, reduces cortisol and adrenaline levels. Additionally, a study conducted by Duke University noted that two hours of silence a day can promote the development of new brain cells.
Thoughts make noise
Silence is not only external, but also internal. It is no coincidence that we are talking about mental chatter to indicate the thoughts that arise in the mind, chaining one to the other and creating a sort of mental chaos. How to avoid it? Meditation is the right way. Some studies conducted with magnetic resonance have in fact observed that the practice of inner silence and meditation they really go to reduce the rumination of thoughts.
We all need silence. An essential good, like oxygen to breathe. And instead we waste it in a melting pot daily life of sounds and noises, some inevitable and others instead only the result of bad habits. Dazed by loud noises, think of those who live near an airport, and by great violence, such as those suffered by citizens surrounded at night by the chaos of metropolitan nightlife.
But also disturbed by small sounds, those of the simplest gestures and habits, which, added together over the course of an entire day, they immerse our life in the tunnel of a daily background noisewhere silence disappears. The trill of the mobile phone, the sound of a horn, the muffled but persistent noise of household appliances (the washing machine centrifuge, the vacuum cleaner, the coffee machine) … Often we don’t even notice it anymore, but it is always of noises that disturb ours quiet and which, above all, accompany us at regular intervals throughout the day.
Noise: health risks
Don’t think that noise is just annoying or doesn’t aid concentration. It can also cause damage to our health even when it is not deafening, but still constant and persistent. According to the statistics of theWorld Health Organizationpeople with hearing problems in 2001 they were half a billion, by 2030 they will double. The causes? Work, traffic and fun. On the other hand, think that noise pollution caused by traffic alone causes damage to the 44% of the population of the European Union and costs 326 billion euros to EU public health.
More silence in the house
If it is true that we cannot control the noises that surround us when we are away from home, it is equally true that within the four walls there is a lot we can do to keep unnecessary noise to a minimum. Starting from home appliances which we choose.
The low noise level of these appliances is increasingly appreciated also because some can be particularly annoying. Furthermore, with less acoustic nuisance, they can also be operated during the night hours, less expensive, or those of rest. On the energy label, in addition to the technical and consumption data, it is indicated the noise value in decibels (dB A), a value that we should consider before buying.
One of the household appliances that creates the most disturbance, for example, is the fridge, whose sound emission is determined by the engine, which comes into operation to keep the cold constant. A device around the 35-38 decibels can already be considered not very noisy.
Also the dishwasher it usually has a rather high average noise emission, which fluctuates between 33 and 42 decibels. And as for the washing machines the noise hovers around the 70 decibels.
In the kitchen, we find the hoods whose noise is caused by the motor, but also by the passage of air inside the ducts because the flow encounters various obstacles. A good hood should have a level of silence not exceeding 60 decibels.
Finally, a last word on the vacuum which have been improved by optimizing the efficiency of the air flow and limiting its dispersions to reduce the level of sound emission.
In the gallery above some of the quietest appliances which, however, maintain high levels of efficiency. Less noise, therefore, but no less quality of performance.
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