The Need for Quiet
The last time I was home alone was on Wednesday March 11 2020. As I write this we are now in the dog days of July with the Southern summer heat radiating round the clock.
To be very honest I miss the time of being home alone. Now, between my girls on the longest summer vacation of their lives and my husband’s new off site office based in our dining room I am never here by myself. Back in days gone by when we all had lives outside of our house I would have told you how I enjoy peace and quiet. I would choose quiet when I was at home on my own over having music playing, the radio or the television on. I now appreciate that being in the quiet for me wasn’t just a lifestyle choice it was a very important part of my self care.
Here are some of my thoughts on why quiet time is so important to me.
Noise is physiologically stressful.
People vary in how sensitive they are to sound but constant noise has been shown to increase activity in the amygdala. An article in Harvard Medical Publishing quotes research that shows an increased activation of the amygdala leads to raised levels of inflammation in the blood vessels and hence higher risk of heart disease.
In my clinic with 3 patient chairs, orthodontists, patients and their families, dental nurses and sterilisation staff there was a lot of noise in one room. The noise didn’t bother me as I was at work, it was normal. However, I worked through the lunch hour so I could leave early to collect children from school. The absence of other people’s noise during this hour showed me how different I felt in my body during the hour of quiet. Don’t underestimate the physical effects of noise.
Quiet time allows the opportunity to concentrate on tasks that need brain power.
For me general noise is distracting and I find it taking my attention away from what I need to be concentrating on. The weekends at my house are beautifully quiet. I’ve found this is the best time for me to concentrate.
“Quiet people have the loudest minds”
My ears are always listening.
I can’t switch my ears off! I’m not listening to what is being said but somehow I’m absorbing the emotion from the sounds. My husband is on constant Zoom calls for over 10 hours a day talking about numbers. I’m not hearing what is being said but if he’s having a stressful day then my day has likely felt that way too. I find myself mirroring his emotional behaviour. After 25 years together we are pretty in tune with each other but I’ve never spent whole working days in his presence. This is another reason why I’m appreciating weekends so much right now.
I am a planner.
I love to make lists of things to do and daily schedules. I hadn’t realised that my brain works so much more effectively at these in the quiet. I’ve found that my squirrel brain has been gradually taking over and that’s not like me. Talking with a coach friend of mine made me realise that I need to quietly take control back from the squirrel. I think squirrels like noise!
Being in the quiet means I can hear the beautiful things in life.
I’m writing this post early in the morning before our dining room becomes a remote home office filled with the sounds of a day at work, the laundry room whirs to life and the rest of the house wake up. My final point came to me. It’s in these moments of quiet that I hear things that make me smile. The birdsong from the woods behind our house filter into my room. I can hear my puppy quietly snuffling in his sleep and the hummingbird is buzzing at the feeder for his breakfast.
General life has the ability to drown out the smallest but most pleasurable sounds!
Over the time of the pandemic I’ve found ways to adapt and find places where I can be quiet. How have you found time and space to enjoy some peace and quiet?