Ted Talk outline
several
of them initially set out to study the neuroscience of sound, or of music in
particular. One mouse study led by Imke Kirste, a biologist at Duke University,
found that “even though all the sounds had short-term neurological effects, not
one of them had a lasting impact,” Gross writes. “Yet to her great surprise,
Kirste found that two hours of silence per day prompted cell development in the
hippocampus, the brain region related to the formation of memory involving the senses.”
Florence Nightingale, the 19th century
British nurse and social activist, once wrote that “Unnecessary noise is the
most cruel absence of care that can be inflicted on sick or well.” Nightingale
argued that needless sounds could
cause distress, sleep loss and alarm for
recovering patients.
It turns out that noise pollution has been found to lead to high blood
pressure and heart attacks, as well as impairing hearing and overall health.
Loud noises raise stress levels by activating the brain’s amygdala and causing
the release of the stress hormone cortisol, according to research.
An unpublished 2004 paper by environmental psychologist
Dr. Craig Zimring suggests that higher noise levels in neonatal intensive care
units led to elevated blood pressure, increased heart rates and disrupted
patient sleep patterns.
Just as too much noise can cause stress and tension,
research has found that silence has the opposite effect, releasing tension in
the brain and body.
A 2006 study published in the journal Heart
found two minutes of silence to be more relaxing than listening to “relaxing”
music, based on changes in blood pressure and blood circulation in the brain.
In our everyday lives, sensory input is being thrown at us from
every angle. When we can finally get away from these sonic disruptions, our
brains’ attention centers have the opportunity to restore themselves.
The ceaseless attentional demands of modern life put a significant
burden on the prefrontal cortex of the brain, which is involved in high-order
thinking, decision-making and problem-solving.
As a result, our attentional resources become drained. When those
attention resources are depleted, we become distracted and mentally fatigued,
and may struggle to focus, solve problems and come up with new ideas.
But according to attention restoration theory, the brain can restore
its finite cognitive resources when we’re in environments with lower levels of
sensory input than usual. In silence ― for instance, the quiet stillness
you find when walking alone in nature ― the brain can let down its sensory
guard, so to speak.
Rayann-
how noise affects her
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