Overwhelmed? Why we all need silent mode

The constant buzz from screens is affecting our health, a new report says. Here are eight ways to avoid overload.

Try turning off your phone and silencing alerts on your activity tracker or smartwatch to walk in silence for a change.

Take a breath. Sit down. Think. When was the last time you sat in silence? Real silence, without your phone beeping at you or the radio on in the kitchen.

Our increasingly noisy lives find us bombarded by WhatsApp pings, data alerts from smartwatches, traffic sounds, public announcements – a stream of constant noise the World Health Organisation says “has negative impacts on human health and wellbeing, and is a growing concern”. Even when we could take a few moments for some peace and quiet we just seek out more noise – a podcast, say, or a Spotify playlist. And scientists are now saying the relentless exposure to it is adversely affecting our health and contributing to the growing number of us who are feeling burnt out.

A report published this week by social and economic think tank Onward reveals that ceaseless interruption from social media, TVs, mobile phones and tablets is contributing significantly to the rising number of “burnt-out” people who are feeling too busy and overwhelmed. One-fifth of workers often or always feel exhausted, while between 2020 and 2022 88 per cent of UK employees complained of burnout, research shows.

This blurring of the “work/personal life”, as modern technology becomes “unavoidably interwoven with other leisure activities”, is, the report says, more important than other factors such as a lack of sleep when it comes to people feeling burnt out.

Dr Julie Darbyshire, a psychologist at Oxford University’s Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences and principal investigator on its former Silence project, which investigated the effect of quietness on wellbeing, says constant interruptions and noise are having a damaging effect.

“Noise isn’t just the loud things we hear or the things we listen to on headphones, it is the low-level buzz of busyness in our lives that means we are rarely completely quiet,” she says. “The more of this noise input you have, the more fretful and restless you will feel, and if you get rid of some of these noises you will be less stressed.”

Darbyshire says she experienced this herself when she first wore a smartwatch linked to her phone. “It was endlessly alerting me to something or buzzing on my wrist. I began to feel anxious and eventually I just switched off the notifications and alarms to give myself more peace.”

Added to these background sounds are the “noise peaks” we might typically experience throughout the day, such as slamming doors, screeching brakes and alarms, that leave us on edge. “These noises heighten the fight-or-flight response, our automatic reaction to an event or sound that we perceive to be dangerous or stressful,” Darbyshire says. “In isolation they might seem like nothing, but if we are already anxious and overloaded when we hear them, then our sympathetic nervous system triggers a stress response.”

If we could experience more silence in our lives, perhaps starting this weekend, we could boost our health in numerous ways. “There is evidence that noise will raise your heart rate, raise your blood pressure and raise your cholesterol levels, and that quiet will do the reverse,” she says. “The message is that some quietness is good for us.”

Animal studies have even suggested two hours of silence daily stimulates the growth of new cells in the hippocampus, the part of the brain that deals with memory and emotion, in mice. While it has yet to be replicated in humans, there is a clear link between quietness and emotional health. “Silence has been shown to reduce levels of stress hormones such as cortisol in the body,” says Dr Julie Hannan, a chartered psychologist and founder of Burn-out UK (burn-out.co.uk), which provides online courses for people at risk of burnout. “The more times in a day you can embrace it, the less anxious you will become.”

For a 2021 study, researchers from Turku University of Applied Sciences in Finland asked 59 participants to perform a series of cognitive tasks, each lasting 48 minutes, that required full concentration – and then to repeat the tasks with either silence, speech or other noise in the background.

Measurements of the stress hormones cortisol and noradrenaline were taken during each phase of the trial to estimate levels of physiological stress, and results showed working in silence produced the lowest cognitive load and the lowest stress levels. But even low-level background chatter was found to be “more annoying and to raise cortisol levels compared with silence”. Less noise will also boost focus, concentration and performance at work.

“Research shows that we perform at our best when silence is the background sound,” says Dr Nick Perham, a reader in applied psychology at Cardiff Metropolitan University. “Any background sound – from alarms to someone calling your name, or the unexpected backfiring of a car exhaust – captures our attention, diverting our mental resources away from the task in hand, and reducing performance in anything we are attempting.”

To get the mental and physical benefits of a quieter lifestyle, here’s what the health experts recommend.

1   Take a two-minute ‘silence break’ a few times a day

You can feel the benefits of silence within a few minutes.

Researchers studying the impact of music on stress found that calmer and slower music reduced heart rate, blood pressure and breathing rate as expected, but that sitting through two minutes of silence between tracks – what they termed a “silence break” – was even more calming and had a greater beneficial effect on both blood pressure and circulation to the brain.

And if you can snatch 10 minutes of quiet time, even better. In his research into the nature of silence, Eric Pfeifer, professor of aesthetics and communication at the Catholic University of Applied Sciences in Freiburg, Germany, found that reduced levels of stress can come from short, silent sessions lasting less than 10 minutes.

“I deal with a lot of high-flying, high-functioning people who rarely take time out for themselves and I tell them to take two to 10 minutes, three to four times a day, of complete quiet away from their busy lives when they can,” Hannan says. “This can be in the bath, getting up 10-15 minutes before everyone else and before chaos of family life descends, or just sitting somewhere calm and quiet for a few minutes at a time.”

2  You need an hour of quiet a day

Time away from noise may be good for you, but how much do you need? Up to an hour a day is ideal for restorative and antistress benefits, says Darbyshire. After that there can be a tipping point for those wanting to de-stress and avoid burnout, she says.

If you spend too much time in silence you might start to feel you are missing out on the kind of auditory stimulation that actually brings you pleasure, such as nature, conversation or music. And that can have a negative effect on some people.

“You don’t want or need hours and hours of silence,” Darbyshire says. “For some people too much time in silence leads to a tendency to ruminate on negative thoughts, so you need to work out the amount that works for you.”

Hannan stresses it is important to distinguish silent solitude from loneliness.

“People often think there is something wrong with them for wanting to seek silence and solitude, but it can be so beneficial,” she says. “As long as you have the option of returning to the real world, spending an hour in a quiet space is different from loneliness and brings benefits including reduced heart rate, fewer racing thoughts and reduced stress.”

3  No phones at mealtimes

It sounds monastic, but eating in silence – no background music, no checking phones or listening to the news – has real benefits.

Starting the day with a silent breakfast, a trend that emerged during lockdown and involves focusing on just your coffee, toast, cereal and thoughts, can help to quieten the mind and set the tone for the day ahead.

Professor Charles Spence, an experimental psychologist at the University of Oxford, has studied the effects of background noises on food consumption and enjoyment, and says silent breakfasts can help to reduce “the sensory overload” in ways similar to meditation. But he also suggests silent dining in general can be beneficial for some people and has reported “clear evidence” that both background noise and loud music can impair “the ability to detect tastes such as sweet and sour”.

“Try it at home if the kids will let you,” Hannan says. “But otherwise make mealtimes quieter in general by cutting down the background noise from radio or TV.”

4  Don’t just set your phone to vibrate – switch it off completely

Switching your phone to vibrate-only mode might not bring the stress-busting benefits you expect. The evidence shows that you actually need to turn it off altogether or, better still, leave it in another room for at least a few minutes a day.

“In our studies we found that when people put their phones to vibrate mode they were distracted every time it alerted them,” Darbyshire says. “Even if you think you are giving someone or something your full attention, if your phone is buzzing in your pocket it’s a distraction and you are not in the moment.”

Indeed, psychologists from Pennsylvania State University found smartphone users checked their devices more often when they were in silent or vibration-only mode and, in some cases, even used their phones for longer. Instead of being better attuned to what is going on around them, Shyam Sundar, professor of media effects at PSU who led the trial, says his research shows “the opposite, in that (people) are preoccupied thinking about all the things that they’re missing, so it might be even more distracting”.

5  Go for a walk without any devices

Are you someone who uses the walk to work or your dog walk as an opportunity to listen to news or self-help podcasts, log into a meeting or download an audiobook? Try turning off your phone and silencing alerts on your activity tracker or smartwatch to walk in silence for a change.

“We are a society that feels we need to use every spare minute as a chance to catch up on something and invariably that involves more noise,” Darbyshire says. “Once in a while it is good to get outside and sit or walk without listening to anything other than outdoor noise.”

Or you could sign up for a one-day Silent Pilgrimage with the British Pilgrimage Trust (british-pilgrimage.org).

6  Take exercise without loud music

Gyms can be noisy places with the whirr of treadmills, the clanging of dropped weights, loud music and shouting instructors to contend with.

While spin classes, bootcamps and circuits will get you fit, they can be an additional source of noise stress that won’t necessarily help you to unwind mentally.

It might be worth adding activities such as yoga and t’ai chi to your exercise schedule, Hannan says – they are ideal for people who want to escape the noise but don’t like the idea of being silent and still.

“These forms of almost meditative activity offer few noise distractions and help you to focus inwards and not on your to-do list,” she says. “That, combined with the deep breathing and slow movements, is an excellent antidote to stress.”

7  Open-plan office? Use noise-cancelling headphones at work

Compared with 40 or 50 years ago, “increases in noisy technology – computers, phones, photocopiers – have changed the sort of noises we hear at work”, says Helen Hodgetts, reader in applied cognitive psychology at Cardiff Metropolitan University. “But any kind of noise interruption can affect our ability to concentrate, with even simple tasks such as mental arithmetic shown to be impaired by different sound volumes and pitches as they clash with our brain’s ability to process information in the right way.”

Ideally, employers should carefully consider the location of noisy equipment and create quiet working spaces with sound-reducing ceiling and wall tiles to offset noise, Hodgetts says.

If your employer isn’t that obliging, then investing in noise-cancelling headphones can help, says Darbyshire, who uses them periodically throughout the day.

“They help to dull the background noise so that you can focus on the task in hand,” she says, although stressing it’s still important to be able to communicate with colleagues. “I don’t have them on permanently when I work. Just when I feel the need.”

You should also make an effort to stand up from your desk and step away from your screens for five minutes every 30 minutes.

According to researchers from Columbia University, a five-minute stroll after every half-hour of prolonged sitting is the most effective way to prevent rises in blood sugar and blood pressure that come with sedentary behaviour. Results of their study, published this year, also showed these brief walking breaks boosted mood and reduced fatigue levels.

8  No devices an hour before bed

Too little sleep is highly correlated with anxiety and is a risk factor for burnout. A quiet bedroom is vital and any noisy electronic devices will affect that.

“Avoid taking a laptop or phone into the bedroom, and switch off your smartwatch,” Darbyshire says. “I would go as far as suggesting people switch off any electronic device 30-60 minutes before going to bed and do something quiet instead, like reading a book.”

If you find yourself adversely affected by external noise, such as traffic or noisy neighbours, then overriding it with something that is just a gentle blur of sound can reduce anxiety and help you to sleep.

“A fan on overnight, or at least until you are relaxed, provides a constant whirr that can drown out what’s going on outside,” Darbyshire says. “A lot of people find that very helpful.”

Listening to natural white noise, such as the sound of a waterfall, can also have a soothing effect by similarly masking irritating sounds that make you feel stressed.

The Times