The world around us is driven by noise and chaos. Be it the work environment, crowded stores, constant background music or the Smartphone notifications that seek your attention 24×7, it’s hard to find peace and quiet as you go through the day. You might feel as if you are constantly hustling and that rest and quiet are unattainable. Needless to say, this affects your health as well. Let’s get familiar with some ways in which you can cut down the noises and usher in peace, quiet and good health.
Devote time to meditation
Meditation is a burning example of the fact that it doesn’t take a lot of time to achieve a peaceful state of mind amidst the noise and chaos. Just a few minutes of indulgence can help to relieve the stress. Other advantages include developing more compassion and emotional stability. In fact, meditating is also known to prevent several illnesses.
Wait! That’s not all. You can reap its benefits even when you’re not meditating. It’s a gift (to yourself) that keeps on giving. Make sure to sneak in some time and meditate regularly.
Tone down that sound system
If you live with teenagers, you should encourage them to use their headphones when they are listening to loud music. Whether they prefer loud music or not is their personal choice, but you should not be bothered by the distractions.
You can educate them about the implications of listening to loud music. Tell them that if they constantly listen to loud music at 85Db for several hours every day, they will require a hearing aid by the time they reach 50 or 60.
Play peaceful and soothing music
Do you realize that a simple activity like listening to music can have an impact on your stress levels? Each element of music stimulates a different part of the brain.
For instance, when you listen to classical music, it stimulates major parts of the brain because it is rich in complex harmony, rhythm, and melody. This aids in building more brain connections and allows you to lead a happy life by lowering the stress levels. Apart from the health factor, calming music can help you concentrate on your studies so that you don’t opt for assignment help from online sources.
Eliminate noise from your home
Treat your home like a sanctuary that can offer calmness amidst a bustling city. You can decorate your home with heavy curtains on the windows and acoustical tile (created from sound-absorbing material like mineral fiber, cork or wood) on the ceilings and walls.
You can put rugs on floors which absorb sound and seal the air leaks in your home to decrease the noise from the outside. Windows are the source of noise in most residences. Storm windows or the ones with double or triple-glazing can act as a sound barrier.
Go outside and set foot amidst nature
Step away from the comforts of your home to boost your mental and physical health. Similar to meditation, spending considerable time outdoors works well for your brain as well. This not only cuts down the noises of the city, but also improves your health.
Also, spending time outside in nature also makes you feel more alive. As a matter of fact, there’s nothing like a walk in the forest or on the beach to calm your senses, soothe the soul and refuel your energy. So, make sure you venture out amidst nature after every couple of weeks, even if it’s for a few hours. Very soon you’ll be able to notice the change in your mental and emotional wellbeing.
Living in an area which is surrounded by greeneries (i.e. gardens and parks) provides greater life satisfaction and reduces distress.
Avoid the noise in your workplace
It’s definitely not easy, we’ll give you that. All too often you’ll see people talk about how they have no choice but to deal with the job hazards like loud equipment on a construction site or in a factory.
While noise-canceling headphones and earplugs may have limited impact, experts believe it’s essential to follow safety procedures.
So, make sure to take breaks in between work, and step away from the noise around you.
Try not to produce noise
Noises are as pervasive as air, if not more. You don’t necessarily have to take a vow of silence to find some respite from the clatter. Turn down the music player, whether the blasted tunes resonate through your home or are funneled through your earphones.
Also, consider buying quieter appliances like air conditioners or vacuums and lawn-mowing machines that don’t produce too much noise. Rather than picking up a leaf blower, maybe you should consider a rake. This way, you can spend some extra time performing the household chores without assaulting your ears. Keep your car in quiet working order, and don’t remodel a motorcycle with aftermarket parts that prompt it to rumble loudly.
Set aside 5 quiet minutes every day
You can do this anytime and anywhere. Choosing not to turn on your car radio the moment you set out somewhere, deciding not to talk over the phone while cooking, switching your phone off and having a quiet 5-10 minutes in bed before falling asleep can help to keep you calm. There are many ways to do this, and you can decide what works best for you.
You can utilize this time to write a journal, sit with your eyes closed and practice breathing exercises, sketch, or do a quiet task without including any background noise from the TV, stereo, etc.
Push yourself to find at least 5 quiet minutes to invest every day. You’ll see that you’ve actually started enjoying the silence. You might even find additional ways to work during these peaceful minutes.
In Summary
While noises of all kinds may persist as long as technology finds a better alternative to replace them with, you need to consciously try not to let the noise affect your mental and physical health. Even though you can’t always avoid the noise, these ideas will help you retain the calm, quiet and peace in your life.
Author Bio: Shirley Brownis a visiting faculty in a distinguished academic institution in Australia. She has pursued her Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of West Australia. She is associated with several philanthropic organizations. She also works as an assignment expert for MyAssignmenthelp.