Silence.

It's not something we think about often. But we so rarely hear it. Silence. 

Our world nowadays is so incredibly loud. Even at home, I can hear the interstate, the hum of the heating/air conditioning, and the noise of my family moving around the house. We just can't get away from noise. 

So what? It's just noise, it's fine, right?

Well, actually, not quite. It's a very real thing, called  noise pollution.  Noise pollution is defined as annoying and potentially harmful environmental noise. This could be from machines, airplanes, trains, and automobiles. 

So what does this mean for us? Well, noise pollution has shown to have a link to human health.  It can lead to hearing loss, sleep deprivation, even a change in blood pressure. 

And sure, this isn't a huge problem. But it should make you stop and think. Just how much time do we spend surrounded by noise? A lot of noise can lead to an increase in anxiety and stress. So sometimes, it's good to just block it out. In this day and age though, that's difficult to do.

So what I would encourage you to do instead, is to separate yourself. What? How? Think about yourself right now. What are you doing? Sitting on your computer, right? Or on your smartphone? It's now a necessity for us to have some piece of technology glued to us at all times. And this isn't bad, in most cases (don't text and drive kiddies.) But seriously, take a break. 

Many studies have been done to see how long different ages spend on different pieces of technology. The results overall say that many age groups spend a whole lot of time on them. So be different. Turn your phone on silent. Shut off your iPod or mp3 player. Just stop. Relax. Breathe in, breathe out. Relax. Just take a minute or two. Remember that there's an entire world going on up in your head. Take some time to sort through it. Think of any problems you're having, anything that's bugging you. Meditate, I suppose. Just ignore your busy life for a few minutes and take some time to focus on you. It's nice. 



The Quiet Place Project