The Silence Cure: Silence as Medicine for the Nervous System
- Dr. Howard A. Friedman MD, founder of HHOM LLC
- Oct 25
- 3 min read
10-18-2025
By Dr. Howard Friedman, M.D. | Veteran | U.S. Army Medical Corps | Internal Medicine | HHOM LLC
Poem — The Sound Beneath Stillness
In the hush between heartbeats,
truth gathers its breath.
Silence does not mean absence—
it means listening
to what never stopped speaking.
—Dr. Howard Friedman, M.D.
Introduction — When Noise Becomes a Symptom
In a 24-hour world of pings, alerts, and endless conversation, silence has become medicine in short supply. The human nervous system—wired for both action and restoration—was never designed to live in constant stimulation. Modern life keeps the sympathetic “fight-or-flight” system humming, while the parasympathetic “rest-and-digest” pathway sits underused, waiting for us to remember it exists.
Silence isn’t an absence of sound; it’s an active biological state—a recalibration of every cell that has been listening too long to the noise.
The Biology of Quiet
When we rest in silence, stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline subside. Heart rate slows, blood pressure drops, digestion improves, and immune function stabilizes. The body’s internal repair systems—long suppressed by tension—re-engage.
A 2013 study by neuroscientist Imke Kirste found that mice exposed to two hours of silence a day produced new cells in the hippocampus, the region tied to learning, memory, and emotion. Silence, it turns out, is neurogenic.
Another study by Olga Capirci observed that individuals born deaf process emotion with remarkable depth—evidence that the absence of sound can heighten other dimensions of awareness.
Silence as a Healing Practice
Silence invites resilience and meaning. It slows the spinning narrative of stress long enough for insight to emerge. In stillness, the nervous system learns to trust again. Two hours of silence may seem indulgent, yet it’s as essential as exercise or nutrition. “An apple a day keeps the doctor away,” the saying goes. Silence, too, keeps the healer within us awake.
Try small doses:
Start with five minutes before bed—no phone, no music.
Listen not for sound, but for space.
Notice the body’s subtle shift from doing to being.
Conclusion — The Pulse of Peace
Silence improves memory, reduces anxiety, strengthens empathy, and steadies the heart. It reconnects us to our humanity. We pause in silence to honor those who’ve passed—perhaps we should do the same for the living. Imagine every community taking two quiet hours each day. The world’s blood pressure might finally begin to fall.
Closing Poem — Prescription: Silence
Not every cure is swallowed.
Some are heard
in the spaces between thoughts.
The body, tired of shouting,
waits for the doctor’s quiet—
a pause, a breath,
a heartbeat that says,
you may rest now.
In the hush,
healing remembers its name.
—Dr. Howard Friedman, M.D.
—Dr. Howard Friedman, M.D.
Board-Certified | Internal Medicine | Veteran | U.S. Army Medical Corps
Founder of Howard’s House of Medicine (HHOM LLC)
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: What happens to the body when noise never stops?
A: Chronic exposure to noise keeps the sympathetic nervous system in overdrive. Cortisol and adrenaline stay elevated, blood pressure rises, digestion slows, and sleep quality declines. Over time, the body forgets how to downshift into repair.
Q: How does silence restore biological balance?
A: In silence, the parasympathetic system—the body’s natural brake—re-engages. Heart rate normalizes, immune cells recover, and brainwave patterns shift toward alpha and theta states associated with calm awareness. Even short daily periods of quiet have been shown to trigger hippocampal cell regeneration.
Q: Why is intentional quiet a medical necessity, not a luxury?
A: Because healing requires low stimulation. Just as muscles rebuild between workouts, the brain and organs repair during stillness. Two hours of silence a day can lower stress markers as effectively as medication—without side effects, only awareness.
Comments