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The Sound of Silence: How the Absence of Noise Affects Your Decisions

Author headshotSophie Cleff
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0 min read

Apr 03, 2024

Have you ever found yourself turning down the car radio while looking for a parking spot? Or stepping outside of a noisy room just so you could think? These almost instinctual habits reveal something fundamental about our relationship with noise—especially when it comes to making decisions. 

Silence can be uncomfortable. We have a constant need for mental stimulation, supported by the practically limitless amounts of content we have access to at all times. But through decades of research on noise, scientists have discovered that excessive noise competes with our ability to think clearly, while silence can improve our decision-making processes and might even keep us in good health. 

Your brain on noise 

The case of public health 

Noise pollution, by definition, is any loud and inescapable sounds that jeopardize the health or well-being of humans or animals.1 In this case, noise becomes more than just a mere nuisance—it can have significant adverse effects on our physical and mental health. 

Several studies have discovered correlations between noise pollution and an array of health issues including heart disease,2 depression,3 and anxiety,4 potentially attributed to repeatedly triggering the body’s stress response.5 After conducting a study on the effects of traffic-related noise in Europe, the WHO even labeled noise pollution as a “threat to public health.”6

This underscores an urgent need for noise management and pollution reduction to safeguard public health on a global scale. Government intervention can massively support this, from thoughtful urban planning of airports and highways to regulated use of noise-absorbing materials in the construction of transportation infrastructure.

Impacts on learning

Other studies have examined the influences of noise on learning ability with unnerving results. A landmark study conducted in the 70s demonstrated that children in classrooms on opposite sides of a school, where one side was within earshot of train tracks and the other side was not, had different learning outcomes. When the city improved the infrastructure to reduce the noise made by the trains, learning outcomes equalized.7 This is a tell-tale sign that enhancing learning environments to improve K-12 education is a crucial investment in the future of young learners.  

Numerous other studies have demonstrated the impact of noise pollution on children’s ability to recognize speech, reading level, and other cognitive performance measures.7, 8, 9, 10 Similar results in terms of mental workload as well as visual and auditory attention have also been observed in young adults.11 Once again, the critical need for noise mitigation strategies is clear since optimal cognitive development depends on our ability to create environments for learning that are free from noise pollution.

Understanding the science

So what is the scientific explanation behind this all? Noise may interfere with our ability to perceive other kinds of stimuli because we involuntarily process the sound, which competes with the mental processes being applied to the task at hand. More simply, the sound is drawing our attention away from what we were previously focusing on.12 

In the long term, as we adapt to chronic noise exposure, our brains learn to block out unwanted noise but inadvertently may ignore other important stimuli in the process. This is likely the case for young children with chronic exposure to noise who have trouble with language development.13

But of course, not all noise is made equal. Relaxing music, audiobooks, birds singing, and the like may all be considered sounds—different from noises like traffic or construction because of our desire to listen to them. And as it turns out, sounds might conversely have a positive impact on our cognitive processes. For instance, classical music may help us absorb new information,14 and listening to nature sounds can improve our mood.15 Check out previous research we’ve done here at TDL on how listening to music while waiting can alter our perception of time, our mood, and our perceptions of who we’re waiting for.

References

  1. Noise pollution. (n.d.). https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/noise-pollution/
  2. Hahad, O., Beutel, M., & Gori, T. (2018, March 29). Annoyance to different noise sources is associated with atrial fibrillation in the Gutenberg Health Study. International Journal of Cardiology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijcard.2018.03.126
  3. Eze, I. C., Foraster, M., Schaffner, E., Vienneau, D., Pieren, R., Imboden, M., Wunderli, J. M., Cajochen, C., Brink, M., Röösli, M., & Probst‐Hensch, N. (2020). Incidence of depression in relation to transportation noise exposure and noise annoyance in the SAPALDIA study. Environment International, 144, 106014. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2020.106014
  4. Floud, S., Vigna-Taglianti, F., Hansell, A., Blangiardo, M., Houthuijs, D., Breugelmans, O., Cadum, E., Babisch, W., Selander, J., Pershagen, G., Antoniotti, M. C., Pisani, S., Dimakopoulou, K., Haralabidis, A. S., Velonakis, V., & Jarup, L. (2011, July). Medication use in relation to noise from aircraft and road traffic in six European countries: Results of the hyena study. Occupational and environmental medicine. 
  5. Hahad, O., Prochaska, J. H., Daiber, A., & Münzel, T. (2019). Environmental Noise-Induced Effects on Stress Hormones, Oxidative Stress, and Vascular Dysfunction: Key Factors in the Relationship between Cerebrocardiovascular and Psychological Disorders. Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity, 2019, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/4623109
  6. World Health Organization: WHO. (2011, March 30). New evidence from WHO on health effects of traffic-related noise in Europe. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/europe/news/item/30-03-2011-new-evidence-from-who-on-health-effects-of-traffic-related-noise-in-europe
  7. Bronzaft, A. L., & McCarthy, D. (1975). The effect of elevated train noise on reading ability. Environment and Behavior, 7(4), 517–528. https://doi.org/10.1177/001391657500700406
  8. McMillan, B. T. M., & Saffran, J. R. (2016). Learning in complex environments: The effects of background speech on early word learning. Child Development, 87(6), 1841–1855. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12559
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  11. Jafari, M. J., Khosrowabadi, R., Khodakarim, S., & Mohammadian, F. (2019). The effect of noise exposure on cognitive performance and brain activity patterns. Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences, 7(17), 2924–2931. https://doi.org/10.3889/oamjms.2019.742
  12. Hughes, R. W. (2014). Auditory distraction: A duplex-mechanism account. PsyCh Journal, 3(1), 30–41. https://doi.org/10.1002/pchj.44
  13. Novotney, A. (n.d.). Silence, please. https://www.apa.org. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2011/07-08/silence
  14. Raypole, C. (2023, May 30). Music and studying: it’s complicated. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/does-music-help-you-study#negative-effects
  15. Song, I., Baek, K. S., Kim, C., & Song, C. (2023). Effects of nature sounds on the attention and physiological and psychological relaxation. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 86, 127987. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2023.127987
  16. Goh, R. Z., Phillips, I., & Firestone, C. (2023). The perception of silence. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 120(29). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2301463120
  17. Lopez Lloreda, C. (2023, July 10). Our brains may process silence and sounds the same way. Science | AAAS. https://www.science.org/content/article/our-brains-may-process-silence-and-sounds-same-way
  18. Bernardi, L., Porta, C., & Sleight, P. (2005b). Cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and respiratory changes induced by different types of music in musicians and non-musicians: the importance of silence. Heart, 92(4), 445–452. https://doi.org/10.1136/hrt.2005.064600
  19. Nguyen, T., Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2017). Solitude as an approach to affective Self-Regulation. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 44(1), 92–106. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167217733073
  20. Pfeifer, E., & Wittmann, M. (2020). Waiting, thinking, and feeling: variations in the perception of time during silence. Frontiers in Psychology, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00602
  21. Kirste, I., Nicola, Z., Kronenberg, G., Walker, T. L., Liu, R. C., & Kempermann, G. (2013). Is silence golden? Effects of auditory stimuli and their absence on adult hippocampal neurogenesis. Brain Structure & Function, 220(2), 1221–1228. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-013-0679-3
  22. Wilson, T. D., Reinhard, D. A., Westgate, E. C., Gilbert, D. T., Ellerbeck, N. E., Hahn, C., Brown, C. L., & Shaked, A. (2014). Just think: The challenges of the disengaged mind. Science, 345(6192), 75–77. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1250830
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  24. Radun, J., Maula, H., Rajala, V., Scheinin, M., & Hongisto, V. (2020). Speech is special: The stress effects of speech, noise, and silence during tasks requiring concentration. Indoor Air, 31(1), 264–274. https://doi.org/10.1111/ina.12733
  25. Cho, Y., Zhang, T., & Overbeck, J. R. (2015). The benefits of silence in negotiation: brief moments of quiet help value claiming and creation. Proceedings - Academy of Management, 2015(1), 12027. https://doi.org/10.5465/ambpp.2015.12027abstract
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  27. Meditation: A simple, fast way to reduce stress. (2023, December 14). Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/meditation/in-depth/meditation/art-20045858
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About the Author

A person is smiling, standing in front of a wall with horizontal wooden slats. They wear a dark, patterned shirt and a necklace with a pendant.

Sophie Cleff

Sophie is an Associate at The Decision Lab. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology and Immunology from McGill University. She is passionate about applying her research background to interdisciplinary problems, especially related to public health. Before joining The Decision Lab, Sophie worked with the Montreal Children’s Hospital and Translating Emergency Knowledge for Kids (TREKK) to increase the quality, safety, and integrity of research in pediatric medicine. In her free time, she enjoys crocheting and playing the guitar.

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