We Need to Step Away From Constant Stimulation
We live in a world where silence has become a rare luxury. Notifications buzz, conversations overlap, and screens glow. Our nervous system works overtime just trying to keep up. At some point, the noise becomes so normal that we forget what it feels like to not be surrounded by it.
This is why silence retreats are growing in popularity worldwide. And the surprising thing? People aren’t going because they’re stressed—although many are. They’re going because somewhere deep inside, they feel a pull toward quiet. A longing. A craving.
As much as it is hard to believe, this longing is biological.
We Need to Step Away From Constant Stimulation. Silence retreats are a good way to do it, and they include significant silence retreat benefits.
In 2016, Dr. Imke Kirste discovered that just two hours of silence a day can stimulate new cell growth in the hippocampus—the part of the brain responsible for memory, learning, and emotional regulation. That’s one of the most compelling silence retreats benefits you can find: the brain literally repairs itself in quiet.
Many people reach a point where their mind feels overloaded, their emotions feel tangled, and their body feels tense for no reason. Stepping away from constant stimulation isn’t a luxury. It’s a reset button.
Why People Feel Drawn to Silence, Even If It Scares Them
When the external noise drops, the internal noise rises
Ronit Baras
Most people who arrive at silence retreats say the same thing:
“I thought I would go crazy not talking.”
Or:
“I wasn’t sure I could handle being alone with my thoughts.”
But underneath the fear is a deeper truth: people feel disconnected from themselves.
In psychology, this is called internal fragmentation—too many tabs open in the mind, too many responsibilities, too many emotional files left unsorted. People are in total overwhelm and at one stage, they don’t remember how it feels, to live or simply be.
Silence helps bring everything back together.
A 2019 study by Tang and colleagues showed that even short periods of mindful silence improve emotional stability and reduce repetitive thinking that fuels anxiety and stress.
Many participants say that silence doesn’t feel empty at all. It feels spacious. Like their mind finally has room to breathe.
What People Discover in the Quiet
I highly recommend you experiment with it. When the external noise drops, the internal noise rises and that can be scary for most people. But you can’t change your thoughts if you are not aware of them.
Yes, it is the uncomfortable part.
Does it happen to you that only when you sit, you discover how painful your back is?
This is what happens to us when we stop.
When people are quiet they discover:
- how tired they really are
- how loud their self-criticism has become
- what emotions they’ve been avoiding
- how much they rush themselves
- how little they breathe
- how often they apologise for existing
But the more they stay there, in this troubling truth of their existence, those voices start fading.
In psychology of Buddhism, the therapist will encourage the patient to immerse in the feeling of hurt, shame, anger… until it dissolves. Though most people think those moments are forever, the feelings always dissolve.
Our body and mind hold on to those feelings in order to protect us and we become addicted to those feelings. Yes! Addicted! They constantly appear earlier and earlier, and we are no longer afraid of the incident but afraid of the fear itself.
All my work with Post Traumatic Stress disorder (PTSD) is about the fear of the body, to experience fear. I say the body, because it is not a rational thought, it is a “scar” that was never processed and never healed so just the mention of the trauma ( in smell, vision, word) can make it start bleeding again.
We can’t go under it, can’t go around it, we have to go through it.
When people are brave enough to sit in silence and discover the truth about what they feel and think , they also discover something else—something beautiful.
They discover their inner voice.
Once they allowed those harsh voices to settle, they discover this voice to be softer than their inner critic, but more truthful.
It speaks in intuition, clarity, and gentle nudges.
One participant in a 2020 qualitative study described silence retreats as “emotional housekeeping.” Another called it “meeting myself for the first time in years.”
The most surprising discovery?
People realise how little they need to feel whole.
Ask yourself, When was the last time you heard your own mind without interference?
How Retreats Reset the Nervous System
In daily life, the sympathetic nervous system—the fight-or-flight response—is almost always switched on. Even when we don’t feel stressed, our body acts like we are.
While in the past we had about 3 incidents a week that caused this stress response, nowadays, people have about 70 incidents… a day on average. Yes, a day and yes, on average. Do you know people that are stressed who are not averaged?
The problem is that our body needs several hours to lower the cortisol level, but we simply have no time to do it.
Here is a list of 20 daily situations that turns on your nervous system and sends you to the primitive brain.
Hearing your name spoken sharply
The brain interprets tone shifts as a potential threat.
- Someone interrupting you in the middle of your sentence
It activates the “social threat” part of the brain. Breaks concentration = frustration = stress reaction.
Being rushed (“Hurry up!” / “We’re late!”)
Time pressure creates cortisol spikes.
Unexpected loud noises
Door slams, sudden laughter, barking, dropped objects.
Searching for lost items
Keys, glasses, wallet — triggers problem-solving anxiety.
Feeling watched or judged
Even subtle looks activate the social-evaluation threat.
Walking into a messy room
Visual clutter overwhelms the brain’s processing system.
Starting the day without enough time
Morning chaos sets a stress response for hours.
Multitasking
Juggling tasks forces the brain into micro-switches = stress.
Children, your spouse, your boss, colleagues arguing or shouting
The nervous system reacts instinctively to conflict.
Feeling ignored or dismissed
Triggers the emotional pain centres, same as physical pain.
Unclear instructions or expectations
Ambiguity is stressful because the brain hates uncertainty.
Trying to make a fast decision
Even small choices become stressful when rushed.
Waiting, especially without knowing how long
Queues, phone holds, traffic — uncertainty drives stress.
Feeling like you’ve forgotten something
Creates internal agitation and hyper-vigilance.
Sudden temperature change
Going from hot to cold (or vice versa) signals discomfort.
Knowing you have many things to do
Overwhelm activates the threat response before starting.
Angry at someone who cut you on the road
activates a sense of danger.
Feeling unprepared or underdressed
Social comparison and vulnerability triggers adrenaline.
Trying to think while someone is talking at you
Cognitive overload = stress response activated.
There are so many of those micro stress points throughout the day that we are under attach. Every time you see something not in the right place, you are angry at someone who “wronged” You. you didn’t get what you want, you have heard something disturbing, every time you complain, you criticise, you blame, you defend your point of view, your stress response is on.
Silence turns that switch off.
Dr. Herbert Benson from Harvard Medical School pioneered research in the 1970s on what he called the “relaxation response.” Modern studies have repeatedly confirmed his findings: extended periods of silence slow the heart rate, decrease blood pressure, stabilise breathing patterns, and lower cortisol levels.
But silence retreats do something more powerful. They create continuous regulation, without interruptions.
This is one of the biggest silence retreats benefits: the nervous system gets enough uninterrupted time to repair itself.
Think of your nervous system like a shaking snow globe. In a noisy, stressful environment, it’s constantly being shaken.
In silence, the snow starts to settle. Clarity comes back. Stillness returns.
Silence retreats are doing a great job because they give the body a boost in a very short time. Within 24–48 hours, most participants report:
- improved sleep
- softer breathing
- reduced muscle tension
- fewer racing thoughts
- calmer emotional responses
This is not magic. It’s biology.
Emotional Breakthroughs in Silence
Silence retreats provide a unique opportunity to confront and process these emotions, leading to profound personal growth.
Without distractions, emotions rise to the surface.
This is why many people cry during silence retreats—not because they are sad, but because their emotional system finally releases stored tension.
Breakthroughs often happen around: forgiveness, grief, self-worth, clarity about relationships, career direction, childhood wound, future goals.
Silence creates a container where deeper truths can finally be heard.
A 2018 study by Moyers found that intensive silent meditation retreats increased emotional awareness and self-compassion significantly, even several months after returning home.
I’ve heard countless stories over the years from people who said silence helped them:
- make a life-changing decision
- release resentment they’d held for decades
- understand a pattern that was hurting their relationships
- reconnect with their purpose
- rediscover joy
Silence brings answers that noise has been drowning for years.
Ronit Baras
What You Bring Back Home
Silence retreats don’t end when people go back to their normal lives. The quiet travels with them.
People typically return home with:
- a calmer nervous system
- a clearer mind
- more emotional resilience
- deeper patience
- gentler self-talk
- slower reactions
- a renewed sense of presence
1. A New Pace of Living
People stop rushing. They move through life in a more grounded way.
2. Better Relationships
Silence teaches active listening.
It teaches presence.
It teaches emotional regulation—skills that transform relationships.
3. A Stronger Inner Voice
People become more intuitive, decisive, and self-aware.
4. Boundaries
After being in silence, many realise how much unnecessary noise they tolerate in daily life—and they become protective of their peace.
Silence is not an escape. It’s a homecoming.
Ronit Baras
5. A Lifelong Practice
Many people carry simple rituals back home from a silence retreat, such as quiet morning routines, device-free hours, reflective walks, breathing breaks, and mini “micro-retreats.”
- quiet morning routines
- device-free hours
- reflective walks
- breathing breaks
- mini “micro-retreats”
This is where the true transformation begins—not during the retreat, but after. It’s an immersion “programming” where you immerse yourself in a calm and safe nervous system. After your body learns that it can feel safe, it’ll take longer to turn on the stress response.
Key Silence Retreat Benefits – The real Gift
The greatest of all silence retreats benefits is the reconnection with your inner self.
In a world full of noise, silence becomes a sanctuary—one that heals the nervous system, clarifies the mind, and strengthens the heart.
Ultimately, the greatest silence retreat benefits come from reconnecting with your inner self and finding peace in a chaotic world.
Yes, I know, you must be asking yourself, Is Ronit suggesting me to go to a silence retreat?
Well, no! Not necessarily. (I don’t get any endorsement or advertising fees from any silence retreat)
If you simply can’t create those quite moments in your daily life, then, yes, silence retreats benefits are enormous. It is like a vacation. You don’t have to filter the noise. The location, the everything is done for you, the vibration, the less stimulation, will do it for you.
But, if you are a person who believe that your life is too full to take this time off. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, scattered, emotionally tired, or simply disconnected from yourself, consider creating your own pockets of silence.
And if you’d like support in restoring clarity and emotional balance, visit www.behappyinlife.com for coaching options.
Or, join me next time on the ninth chapter of the silence series when I cover how to take the silence retreat benefits and divert them to home retreat benefits.
Wishing you find some quiet in this loud life
Hugs
Ronit
The Power of Silence Post Series
- The Power of Silence: Benefits for Emotional Wellbeing
- Fear of Silence Psychology: Why Are Quiet Moments So Scary?
- The Hidden Benefits of Silence Meditation
- Embrace the Calm: How Silence Affects the Brain
- Secrets of Silence and Emotional Intelligence
- The Gift of Silence in Parenting: How Pausing Helps Children Feel Seen and Safe
- Silence in Relationships: How Quiet Moments Create Connection
- Silence Retreat Benefits: What Really Happens When the Noise Stops
