Turns out it’s not just the lack of noise that’s what’s beneficial about silence – silence actively improves areas of the brain.
As it turned out, even though all the sounds had short-term neurological effects, not one of them had a lasting impact. 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. This was deeply puzzling: The total absence of input was having a more pronounced effect than any sort of input tested.
It’s a great read. And Nautilus is a wonderful publication.