How to give your brain a break.
When people find out that I (voluntarily) attend these multi-day silent meditation retreats, what they really wanna know is how in the hell I can deal with all that silence.
I regularly come across this same sense of discomfort with silence when talking to friends and clients.
We often talk about being addicted to our devices, but I’m noticing something a little different.
A legit fear of no stimuli.
Mostly this shows up by the compulsive need to check our phones (with or without a notification).
But plenty of people have a TV in their bedroom and watch shows as they drift off to sleep.
There’s a fair amount of good science that says this is a bad habit as it leads to poor sleep, but the thing that feels worth taking a look at is this need to never experience silence.
Our brains are constantly bombarded with information and noise and requests to do more and more work.
At the end of the day, when we turn the lights off and allow our brains to experience some peace and quiet, it is likely the first time in 16-18 hours we give our minds the chance to rest and recover.
It’s my personal opinion that we ask too much of our brains. We keep them overstimulated and over-occupied…and for no good reason.
We’re not more productive by watching TV all night or by looking at our phones all day. We’re not more creative or kind and the data is certainly clear that we’re not more happy.
Not allowing our minds the time to rest and recover is not working.
So, if you’re the kind of person who feels uncomfortable with a little quiet, there are ways you can train your brain (and body) to get comfortable with peace and solitude.
Start small. Maybe sit in your kitchen or living room with the lights on. Phone far away from you. No TV. Just sit there. For 10 minutes. Watch what your mind does. Just watch it. Don’t judge it.
Try experiencing silence with a friend or family member. Grab your partner and put your phones away, turn the TV off, and set a timer to just sit for 5 or 10 minutes. Again, try not to judge your experience. Just sit for a minute, and then take note of your mind and body when you’re done. Do you notice a little more calm?
Set a quota for how often you watch TV in your bedroom. Maybe every other night if the idea of wholesale abandonment doesn’t sit well with you. Maybe give yourself some TV time on weekends only? See if cutting out some of the constant noise gives your nervous system a bit of a break. Maybe you get better sleep. Maybe you feel more clear-headed the next morning. Maybe you find that peace and quiet actually feels incredibly refreshing and rejuvenating?
I don’t know exactly how your experience will turn out, but I do think it’s worth a little experimentation to see if cutting down on more noise and light will do your brain some favors!
note: I am not anti-TV. I actually really like TV and movies. I just don’t want it in my bedroom.
