All of this noise is hurting us.
All of this noise is keeping us from developing new brain cells and you're gonna age faster.
All of this noise is keeping us from developing new brain cells and you're gonna age faster.
Life is an "inside out" job. Think sunburns. You laid on the beach for hours and hours every weekend as a teenager, slathered in baby oil, frying like bacon in a cast iron skillet and you thought you got away with it because you were still looking pretty good into your 40s and then, when you turned 50, "things" started happening. You're always at the dermatologist's office getting something burned off with that "bug juice" called liquid nitrogen. Ugh.
You're buying all kinds of expensive creams to fight back the wrinkles. All of that sun exposure damaged the skin way down deep and it took decades to see the results. Ugh...again.
The same thing happens in your brain and in your other organs for that matter. Look how long it takes for liver damage to show up from all that drinking booze!
You're buying all kinds of expensive creams to fight back the wrinkles. All of that sun exposure damaged the skin way down deep and it took decades to see the results. Ugh...again.
The same thing happens in your brain and in your other organs for that matter. Look how long it takes for liver damage to show up from all that drinking booze!
First, a bit of brain science because if you don't know the "why" behind the "what", nothing will change.
The only, absolutely only area of the brain that creates new neurons is the hippocampus. This word is actually Latin for "seahorse" because the hippocampus is made up of two structures shaped like seahorses toward the middle of your brain. the hippocampus is associated with memory, emotion and learning. It is housed deep in the brain, maybe to protect it?
The only, absolutely only area of the brain that creates new neurons is the hippocampus. This word is actually Latin for "seahorse" because the hippocampus is made up of two structures shaped like seahorses toward the middle of your brain. the hippocampus is associated with memory, emotion and learning. It is housed deep in the brain, maybe to protect it?
These brain cells, born in the hippocampus, grow up to be new brain cells called neurons. They require silence to become brain cells. Silence actually grows your brain. The brain is in a state of perpetual activity as it takes in and evaluates information even when you are sleeping. The only control you have over your brain is to give it silence. And, it doesn't need a lot. A little silence goes a long way.
There is a "position" in the brain called the "default mode network" which kicks in when we are reflecting on our own characteristics, personalities, traits rather than when we're thinking about self-esteem or self-recognition. The default mode is inward, the rest of our thinking is outward looking.
When your brain rests, it integrates internal and external information in order to make sense of it...a kind of a "conscious workspace". [I can't help myself. What does your "desk" look like?]
When you aren't focused on anything such as that "gotta do" list, there's a quiet time that allows your consciousness to process things. You give your brain freedom and "space" it needs to think about the world and imaginative ways to solve problems.
My guess is that we've all had that experience of not being "able to think straight" because of the "noise" around us and in our brains.
When your brain rests, it integrates internal and external information in order to make sense of it...a kind of a "conscious workspace". [I can't help myself. What does your "desk" look like?]
When you aren't focused on anything such as that "gotta do" list, there's a quiet time that allows your consciousness to process things. You give your brain freedom and "space" it needs to think about the world and imaginative ways to solve problems.
My guess is that we've all had that experience of not being "able to think straight" because of the "noise" around us and in our brains.
Long-term exposure to sounds can result in higher levels of adrenaline and cortisol. Both of these stress hormones are very unhealthy and erode your immune system if they are "dumping" frequently.
Even when you're asleep, your body reacts to sound. If you live in a noisy area such as next to a highway, flight path or railroad track, your children will have slower development of cognitive and language skills. Their brains simply cannot pay attention to everything and the more resources their brains devote to noise, the less it has to devote to developing thinking and language skills. Devastating.
Noise pollution is a huge issue. No wonder the "open plan" office space results in reduced productivity and increased irritability. All those people talking and moving around, I just can't think straight!
Reduced motivation and increased errors are yet more undesired results of noise.
Even when you're asleep, your body reacts to sound. If you live in a noisy area such as next to a highway, flight path or railroad track, your children will have slower development of cognitive and language skills. Their brains simply cannot pay attention to everything and the more resources their brains devote to noise, the less it has to devote to developing thinking and language skills. Devastating.
Noise pollution is a huge issue. No wonder the "open plan" office space results in reduced productivity and increased irritability. All those people talking and moving around, I just can't think straight!
Reduced motivation and increased errors are yet more undesired results of noise.
Noise causes tension. Silence releases tension in the brain and body. Just two minutes of silence reduces tension more than listening to relaxing music. Blood pressure reduces and blood circulation in the brain improves during those two minutes.
I must add here that listening to music is a complex phenomenon and involves emotional, neurological, cardiovascular, psychological and physiological changes especially in breathing and blood pressure. It can reduce stress, improve athletic performance and motor functioning in stroke or Parkinson's patients and even milk production in cows.
It's your choice. Listen to music or not. I say do a bit of an experiment and see which choice leaves you most refreshed and motivated.
I must add here that listening to music is a complex phenomenon and involves emotional, neurological, cardiovascular, psychological and physiological changes especially in breathing and blood pressure. It can reduce stress, improve athletic performance and motor functioning in stroke or Parkinson's patients and even milk production in cows.
It's your choice. Listen to music or not. I say do a bit of an experiment and see which choice leaves you most refreshed and motivated.
The good news? The brain is a hardy little thing and it can restore its unlimited resources. A theory called "attention restoration" teaches us that when you're in an environment of lower levels of noise and visual distraction, your brain can "recover" its abilities. In "quiet", the brain lets down its sensory guard and starts to restore some of what was lost during the intense period of processing information.
The bottom line is, you can recover. Your organs regenerate themselves.
The bottom line is, you can recover. Your organs regenerate themselves.
- The outer layer of your skin replaces itself every 35 days.
- You replace your liver every 6 weeks
- Your stomach lining replaces itself every 4 days.
- The stomach cells that come into contact with digesting food are replaced every 5 minutes.
- Our entire skeleton is regenerated every 3 months.
- Your entire brain replaces itself every two months.
- The entire human body replaces itself every 5-7 years...right down to the very last atom of you!
What to do:
I know you. You're me. Every time I heard this kind of recommendation, I'd scoff. Actually, I'd get angry. Here's my thinking..."Good grief. If I had time for this, I'd take a nap". So, I learned to get around myself and dove into a few ideas like this.
When I was a working mother with kids at home, I would escape to the bathroom, put up my sign (actually, they were death threats if anyone bothered me) and I'd put the toilet seat down and put my face in my hands and turn on the shower ever so slightly and listened to the "rain". It was the best I could do for myself and it helped. And yes, sometimes I was so spent, I would have cried if I had the energy.
Think about what it might mean to implement a 2-minute quiet policy from time-to-time in your home!
- Punctuate the work day with 5 minutes of quiet time. No listening to music or going on Facebook or Twitter
- Take a walk. If you need to, wear headphone to cancel out all noise.
- Meditate.
I know you. You're me. Every time I heard this kind of recommendation, I'd scoff. Actually, I'd get angry. Here's my thinking..."Good grief. If I had time for this, I'd take a nap". So, I learned to get around myself and dove into a few ideas like this.
When I was a working mother with kids at home, I would escape to the bathroom, put up my sign (actually, they were death threats if anyone bothered me) and I'd put the toilet seat down and put my face in my hands and turn on the shower ever so slightly and listened to the "rain". It was the best I could do for myself and it helped. And yes, sometimes I was so spent, I would have cried if I had the energy.
Think about what it might mean to implement a 2-minute quiet policy from time-to-time in your home!
I heard a quote from a Nobel Prize winner and it went a little like this... You won't come up with a Nobel Prize winning idea if you sit at a table with a stack of clean notebooks and freshly sharpened pencils.
I found him to be correct. True inspiration comes in the "spaces" of life. I get my best ideas in the shower. I've actually gotten out of the shower to write things down...hence the need for the paper and pencil in the sink.
I believe Herman Melville..."All profound things and emotions of things are preceded and attended by silence".
Just do the best you can with where you are in life. You can only "do" so much. I am encouraging you to think about those 2 minutes where silence can help you restore. Give it a go...TTFN, Claudia
Follow me on Facebook at Dr. Claudia McCulloch
I found him to be correct. True inspiration comes in the "spaces" of life. I get my best ideas in the shower. I've actually gotten out of the shower to write things down...hence the need for the paper and pencil in the sink.
I believe Herman Melville..."All profound things and emotions of things are preceded and attended by silence".
Just do the best you can with where you are in life. You can only "do" so much. I am encouraging you to think about those 2 minutes where silence can help you restore. Give it a go...TTFN, Claudia
Follow me on Facebook at Dr. Claudia McCulloch
