The Sound of Silence

Silence is an incredibly rare commodity and yet one that affects the mental health of millions of people. As I sit here in an almost four-hundred-hectare forest, I can still hear the distant rumble of cars driving on a dual carriageway. I hear machinery from a nearby factory, music and chatter from people walking their dogs on a forest path and the early spring song of hundreds of birds.

What is Silence?

When thinking in mental health terms, silence doesn’t necessarily mean the absolute lack of sound, but rather the absence of disruptive anthropogenic (or human-made) sound. Research has shown that there are clear differences in the physiological outcomes (1) between absolute silence, nature sounds (such as birds or running water), pleasant anthropogenic sounds (such as low-fi music) and industrial anthropogenic sounds (such as machinery or traffic).

Participants given a tough mental challenge were played each of these types of sound, and their stress and mental fatigue recovery were measured. Findings suggested that exposure to nature sounds offered the best recovery. Our brains are naturally predisposed to interpret sounds, and we receive endless messages about our environment even if we’re not consciously aware of it. For example, birds reduce their singing, or stop altogether, if there are predators nearby. Conversely, abundant birdsong indicates safety, food and stability. Even when we are not cognitively aware of it, nature’s sounds can impact our own levels of alertness and therefore our relaxation or anxiety.

What is the benefit of silence?

Allowing ourselves periods of silence tunes us into the messages in our environment. Our nervous system moves out of ‘high alert’ and becomes attuned to what is present, here and now. This heightened sensory awareness can allow us to perceive patterns, rhythms and signals that we may usually miss, which in turn creates a deeper relationship with that place. When we feel safe in a place, it activates our parasympathetic regulation, which provides psychological comfort – we feel part of our environment, not separate from it.

Researchers in 2010 found that exposure to nature sounds after a period of stress increased recovery time (2) - calming and regulation - and that nature sounds plus visuals (3) reduced pain during medical procedures. The National Trust targeted this study in 2019, looking at the effects of listening to bird song versus meditation and silence, and found a 30% reduction in stress and anxiety after one minute of exposure.

While constant sound, even sound we like, requires the brain to keep processing input, silence reduces the sensory load and allows the brain to quiet, which supports parasympathetic activation – the ‘rest and digest’ phase. This can allow us to settle and reorganise our own thoughts, allow our feelings on whatever we’re facing to surface and resolve and support memory consolidation and self-reflection.

What happens when we never experience silence?

Headphones when we’re on public transport, music or the television on at home, ‘sleep music’ at night and unending urban noise - our lives, especially in cities, can be constantly noisy. What does this do for our bodies? For one thing, our brains are processing incoming stimuli all the time. Our nervous systems are perpetually humming on standby, ready for fight-or-flight. Our heart rates and blood pressure are increased; we have higher cortisol levels, our muscles are more tense – drop your shoulders, unclench your jaw. Can you feel the difference?

Evidence of the non-auditory effects of anthropogenic environmental noise exposure includes annoyance, disturbed sleep, hypertension and even cardiovascular disease and worsened cognitive performance, especially in children (4). Finding silence need only start with a minute of quiet – a cuppa in the garden, a shower with only the sound of running water, two minutes after the children have gone to bed before you start the evening’s chores.

Does the silence have to be actually silent?

What we quickly notice during times of ‘silence’ is that it is rarely empty for long. Our ears adapt, and we notice subtle sounds – wind in the trees, breath of those around us (or even our own) or the scuttling of something in the undergrowth.

There’s a reason silence is a well-established tool in the therapy room. In silence, even bodily sensations can become more pronounced: feelings can emerge and, if followed (assuming a safe space for disclosure), can lead to major revelations and internal shifts.

How can we incorporate silence in our work?

Sit spots or mindfulness times in Forest School, wellbeing or other outdoor activities aren’t just constructs to give the practitioner ten minutes of silence. When handled purposefully – such as by listening for specific sounds, creating soundscapes, or using the senses to notice small things – these are introductions to self-regulation, self-awareness and mindfulness. We are embracing the benefits of time outdoors. These activities bring sensory awareness, attention and focus, foster connection and belonging and inspire creativity and reflection.

A note of caution

Many of the people we work with outdoors may find the silence overwhelming. They may need to fill the space with noise – even just random shouting – and may ask to be able to listen to their music. Silence indeed gives the nervous system a break, but as practitioners, we should keep in mind the experiences of our client group.

For some participants, silence is emotionally overwhelming; for others it can be physically overwhelming. For example, someone who experiences tinnitus or hyperacusis might find absolute silence physically painful and inescapably loud within their own heads. Trauma survivors or those with anxiety can find silence threatening as they become hyper-alert to every new or unusual sound.

Choosing an area rich in bird life, or with a crackling fire or near a running stream can help mitigate these concerns for most participants, and generally you’d start with just one minute, increasing the time spent in silence over a period of weeks or months, depending on the client group. Another wonderful way to introduce silence is through flow-state activities. It’s not unusual to find the group becoming quiet for long stretches of time when everyone is whittling, weaving or completing other repeating patterned projects.

Conclusion

Used with intention, silence can be a powerful, free and accessible tool in your outdoor toolkit. Including silence in not only our sessions, but our everyday lives is a simple and powerful opportunity for improving our mental and physical health or for identifying those parts of our lives that still require attention and healing. I encourage you to spend time exploring silence in the small moments and noting how this practice impacts on the days and nights that follow.

Meet the Author

Luschka van Onselen is an Integrative Counsellor and Wilderness Therapist working at Nara Wellbeing on the Isle of Wight. She takes as many of her clients outside as she can and uses bushcraft and nature engagement as tools for mental health and wellbeing.

References

1. Injoon Song, Kwangsik Baek, Choyun Kim, Chorong Song. Effects of nature sounds on the attention and physiological and psychological relaxation. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, Volume 86, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2023.127987.

2. Alvarsson JJ, Wiens S, Nilsson ME. Stress recovery during exposure to nature sound and environmental noise. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2010 Mar;7(3):1036-46. doi: 10.3390/ijerph7031036. Epub 2010 Mar 11. PMID: 20617017; PMCID: PMC2872309.

3. Lechtzin N, Busse AM, Smith MT, Grossman S, Nesbit S, Diette GB. A randomised trial of nature scenery and sounds versus urban scenery and sounds to reduce pain in adults undergoing bone marrow aspirate and biopsy. J Altern Complement Med. 2010 Sep;16(9):965-72. doi: 10.1089/ acm.2009.0531. PMID: 20799901; PMCID: PMC3110836.

4. Basner M, Babisch W, Davis A, Brink M, Clark C, Janssen S, Stansfeld S. Auditory and non-auditory effects of noise on health. Lancet. 2014 Apr 12;383(9925):1325-1332. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(13)61613-X. Epub 2013 Oct 30. PMID: 24183105; PMCID: PMC3988259.

First Published in HORIZONS Magazine issue 113 (SPRING 2026). Horizons is published quarterly by the Institute for Outdoor Learning. Published free to IOL Members (JOIN) or £40 by subscription.