The fear of silence is real for many, but it harms your gut

Today's episode is somewhat abstract at first glance. What does silence have to do with the gut? The connection is relatively simple: constant noise and distraction increase stress in your system. Even if you may feel that silence and being alone are stressful for you, your autonomic nervous system will thank you if you learn to calm down. And this in turn is good for your gut, as stress promotes inflammation in the body and also increases the permeability of your intestinal mucosa.



That's why I talk about this in this episode
👉 Where the fear of silence comes from in the first place
👉 Why silence is important
👉 How silence has a positive effect on your gut health
👉 What you can do specifically to not only learn to tolerate silence, but to actively promote it

Today, as I said, it's all about silence and why it's important for your gut. In my opinion, not eating all the time is also a form of silence. This allows your gut to rest between meals. It's important not to eat too much sweet food so that the breaks between meals work. AndI have a freemini-guide to help you find out whether you are addicted to sugar. And of course, it also gives you tips on how you can easily quit excessive sugar consumption. You can download the mini-guide for freehere here.

Reason for this episode

Let's get back to the topic of silence. The idea for this episode came to me because we were talking to someone in our circle who finds it difficult to be alone. And especially to be alone without music or anything else playing.
Personally, I'm very good at being alone and I don't like it at all when there's music on all the time or the TV is blaring. But I've noticed that I sometimes find it difficult to just be "with myself" for a moment and do nothing. More often than I'd like, I reach for my phone and check one of my social media accounts or listen to a podcast.

4 hours of silence

I was once in a coaching program where one of the tasks was to complete 4 hours of silence. And by silence, I meant doing nothing during this time, including going for a walk, cooking, reading, simply nothing. And I must confess to my shame that I didn't do this task at the time. Only years later, because obviously I too have certain fears of silence.
Have you ever wondered why it is so difficult to be in a quiet environment? Why you might even always have the radio or TV on in the background?

Numbers and statistics

Unfortunately, I haven't found a scientific study on this, but it is thought that around 40% of people need some kind of background noise all the time. That could be music, that could be TV, or even a podcast like this one. Almost half the population! Fascinating, isn't it? If you know of a study on this, please write to me, I would actually be interested!
In the course of my research, however, I found an interesting article that I will be happy to link to in the episode notes for this podcast episode. It's called "Why the brain needs rest" and it's really worth reading.

Psychological aspects

But why is that? Why do we find it so difficult to tolerate silence? Psychologists have various theories on this. One of them is that the inability to tolerate silence is often linked to a deep-rooted fear of being alone or of one's own thoughts. In silence, you are forced to deal with yourself, and that can be quite frightening.

Social influences

And then there are the social influences. We live in a world full of distractions and noise. From traffic noise to the constant notifications on your smartphone, you're rarely really 'quiet'. This constant background noise can make you feel uncomfortable when it's suddenly absent. So it's as if we've forgotten what it's like to simply be 'quiet'. And this not only affects your mental health but, as we'll see later, also your physical health, including your gut health.

Why is it important to be able to tolerate silence?

Stress reduction and mental health

Firstly, silence can be incredibly stress-reducing. In a world that constantly bombards you with information and distractions, a moment of silence can be like balm for the soul. There are even studies that show that regular periods of silence can reduce the stress hormone cortisol. And less stress also means better mental health.

Improved concentration and productivity

Secondly, have you ever noticed how much more productive you can be when you're not constantly distracted? Silence promotes concentration and can increase your productivity. This is especially important at a time when we all need to get so many things done at the same time. And here's an interesting fact: research has shown that up to 40% of productive time can be lost by constantly switching between different tasks, also known as 'content switching'. Yes, you heard that right, almost half of your time could be wasted due to distractions!

Impact on physical health

And now we come to the most exciting part: the impact on physical health. Yes, you heard right. The ability to tolerate silence can actually have a positive impact on your body, including your gut.

The connection Between silence and gut health

The gut as a "second brain"

Let's start with why the gut is often referred to as the "second brain". The gut contains a complex network of neurons that is so extensive that scientists consider it a nervous system in its own right. And just like your brain, your gut reacts to stress and anxiety.

How stress and noise affect gut flora

Stress and noise can have a negative impact on the intestinal flora, i.e. the community of microorganisms in your gut. This can lead to a range of problems, from digestive problems to a weakened immune system. And guess what can help? That's right, silence!

Practical tips

I hope I've been able to make the importance of silence for your gut health a little more palatable. Finally, I'd like to give you a few practical tips on how you can integrate more silence into your everyday life.

Meditation

The first tip is meditation. You don't have to be an expert to meditate. Just sitting in a quiet environment for a few minutes a day and simply breathing is enough. This can work wonders for your stress reduction and therefore also for your gut health.
By the way: if you think that you can't think anything when you meditate, that's not true! The aim of meditation is not to think nothing at all, but simply not to pursue your thoughts. A great trick is to imagine that your thoughts are clouds in the sky. The clouds pass by and you can simply observe them. They appear, move on, disappear. And you are silent and simply observe.

Walks in nature

The next tip is to take regular walks in nature. Nature offers a natural silence that can have an incredibly calming effect. And fresh air and exercise are always good for you anyway.

Conscious breaks

And finally, the last tip: plan conscious breaks into your day. This means finding moments when you switch off all distractions and simply linger in silence. This could be while waiting for the bus, during a lunch break or even for a few minutes before going to bed.

Nutrition tips for better gut health

Finally, a few quick nutrition tips for your gut health that fit in with today's theme of stillness.

Take breaks between meals

So 4-5 hours between meals where you don't eat anything, just drink water. This gives your gut time to digest and rest
It is important to have stable blood sugar levels so that you can take these breaks. Here I would like to recommend themini guide on the subject of sugar.

Drink still water and leave out carbonation

Carbon dioxide is, as the name suggests, acid. Stressed people in particular often have bloating and air in their stomachs, so still water is much more advisable.

Only a few ingredients per meal

This helps your intestines during digestion. I would also describe the jumble of many different ingredients as noise. That doesn't mean it's always bad, but it's worth bringing in a little more silence from time to time. A source of protein, a vegetable, a little high-quality rock salt and a good olive oil, perhaps a spice or a culinary herb - that's it!

If you want to reduce stress in your gut, I also recommend ourArktibiotic Compens. It helps to reduce inflammation in the intestinal mucosa and counteract leaky gut. Stressed people in particular benefit greatly from Compens. We once had some amusing feedback about this! At the very beginning, the product was called Stress Compens and one of our customers had Compens in her kitchen. Her husband saw it and thought, hmmm, I have stress too, I'll just take it! And after a short time, as his wife told us later, her husband suddenly enjoyed going to work again.

I hope these tips help you to bring more stillness into your life and improve your gut health.

LINKS

Article "Why the brain needs rest"
Mini guide "Are you addicted to sugar?" with sugar quiz and tips on the effect of sugar on the metabolism
Arktibiotic Compens

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