1.
Sixth Form
study
period…

2.
…shush…

3.
…please
work in
silence

4.
Your brain
on silence

5.
Conscious effort
temporarily diverts the
brain’s resources …
… silence allows the
brain to return to its
default mode of
constant processing.

6.
Silence is relaxing.

7.
Research into the relaxing
effects of music found that a two
minute silence between tracks
proved more relaxing than the
music.

8.
An experiment
on mice found
that two hours
silence per
day stimulated
cell
development
in the brain.

9.
“You cannot ask somebody to be creative in 15
minutes and really think about a problem. You
might have a quick idea, but to be in deep
thought about a problem and really consider a
problem carefully, you need long stretches of
uninterrupted time.”
JASON FRIED
Silence aids creativity.

10.
World Health Organisation
recommendations:
15 dB rustling leaves
30 dB LIBRARY
40 dB refrigerator hum
Silence is good for
health and wellbeing

11.
‘If you can hear someone talking
while you’re reading or writing,
your productivity dips by up to
66%’. TREASURE (2013)
Silence is good for
productivity

12.
Silence

13.
References
SLIDE 5: Raichle, M.E. et al (2001) ‘A default mode of brain function’, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of
the U.S.A., 98(2), pp.676-682, doi: 10.1073/pnas.98.2.676
SLIDE 7: Bernardi, L. et al (2006) ‘Cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and respiratory changes induced by different types of
music in musicians and non‐musicians: the importance of silence’, Heart, 92(4), pp.445-453, doi: 10.1136/hrt.2005.064600
SLIDE 8: Kirste, I. et al (2015) ‘Is silence golden? Effects of auditory stimuli and their absence on adult hippocampal
neurogenesis’, Brain Structure Function, 220(2), pp.1221-1228, doi: 10.1007/s00429-013-0679-3
SLIDE 9: Fried, J. (2010) ‘Why work doesn’t happen at work’, TED talk transcript. Available at:
https://www.ted.com/talks/jason_fried_why_work_doesn_t_happen_at_work?language=en (Accessed: 28 November 2018).
SLIDE 10: Treasure, J. (2013) ‘Nine ways that sound affects our health, well-being and productivity’, TEDBlog April 24th,
Available at: https://blog.ted.com/9-ways-that-sound-affects-our-health-wellbeing-and-productivity/ (Accessed: 27 November
2018).
SLIDE 11: Treasure, J. (2013) ‘Nine ways that sound affects our health, well-being and productivity’, TEDBlog April 24th,
Available at: https://blog.ted.com/9-ways-that-sound-affects-our-health-wellbeing-and-productivity/ (Accessed: 27 November
2018).

14.
Bibliography
Banbury,S. & Berry, D.C. (1998) ‘Disruption of office-related tasks by speech and office noise’, British Journal of Psychology, 89(3), pp.499-517 Available at:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.2044-8295.1998.tb02699.x (Accessed: 27 November 2018).
Bernardi, L. et al (2006) ‘Cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and respiratory changes induced by different types of music in musicians and non‐musicians: the importance of silence’, Heart, 92(4),
pp.445-453, doi: 10.1136/hrt.2005.064600
Cassidy, G. and MacDonald, R.A.R. (2007) ‘The effect of background music and background noise on the task performance of introverts and extraverts’, Psychology of Music, 35(3), pp.517-537,
doi.org/10.1177%2F0305735607076444 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0305735607076444
Cooper, B. (2017) ‘The power of silence: why you need less noise for work and your health’, Zapier.com, February 2, Available at: https://zapier.com/blog/silence-health-productivity/ (Accessed: 27
November 2018).
Fried, J. (2010) ‘Why work doesn’t happen at work’, TED talk transcript. Available at: https://www.ted.com/talks/jason_fried_why_work_doesn_t_happen_at_work?language=en (Accessed: 28
November 2018).
Gregoire, C. (2016) ‘Why silence is so good for your brain’ HuffPost 5 March, Available at: https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/silence-brain-
benefits_us_56d83967e4b0000de4037004?guccounter=1&guce_referrer_us=aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWRpdW0uY29tL0BqYW5lY293ZWxsOC9zaWxlbmNlLXNob3VsZC1saWJyYXJpYW5zLWFwb2xvZ2l6Z
S1mb3ItcHJvdmlkaW5nLXF1aWV0LWMxMTMxNjE5NjQ0Nw&guce_referrer_cs=BLGft8sUtkh7O0hLrj73Ag (Accessed: 27 November 2018)
Gross, D.A. (2014) ‘This is your brain on silence’, Nautilus, August 21. Available at: http://nautil.us/issue/16/nothingness/this-is-your-brain-on-silence (Accessed: 28 November 2018).
Kirste, I. et al (2015) ‘Is silence golden? Effects of auditory stimuli and their absence on adult hippocampal neurogenesis’, Brain Structure Function, 220(2), pp.1221-1228, doi: 10.1007/s00429-013-
0679-3
Mak, C.M. (2012) ‘The effect of sound on office productivity’, Building Service Engineering, 33(3), pp.339-345 doi: 10.1177/0143624411412253
Ollin, R. (2008) Silent pedagogy and rethinking classroom practice: structuring teaching through silence rather than talk. Cambridge Journal of Education, 38(2), pp.265-280
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03057640802063528
Raichle, M.E. et al (2001) ‘A default mode of brain function’, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the U.S.A., 98(2), pp.676-682, doi: 10.1073/pnas.98.2.676
Shield, B. & Dockrell, J. (2003) ‘The effects of noise on children at school: a review’, Building Acoustics, 10(2), pp.97-116. Available at:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/245525976_The_Effects_of_Noise_on_Children_at_School_A_Review (Accessed: 27 November 2018).
Treasure, J. (2009) ‘The four ways sound affects us’, TED Talk transcript. Available at: https://www.ted.com/talks/julian_treasure_the_4_ways_sound_affects_us/transcript?language=en (Accessed:
27 November 2018).
Treasure, J. (2013) ‘Nine ways that sound affects our health, well-being and productivity’, TEDBlog April 24th, Available at: https://blog.ted.com/9-ways-that-sound-affects-our-health-wellbeing-and-
productivity/ (Accessed: 27 November 2018).

15.
Picture credits
Slide 4: Human head with set of gears by Dmitriy Shpilko. Available at: https://www.123rf.com/stock-
photo/human_head.html?&sti=mu2wj14556cdcspyoy|&mediapopup=36628694
Slide 5: Pen on notebook with squared paper
https://www.pexels.com/photo/black-click-pen-on-white-paper-167682/
Slides 6 & 7: Reflection of tree in water
https://www.pexels.com/photo/background-beautiful-blossom-calm-waters-268533/
Slide 8: Phrenology head by Meo
https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-head-bust-print-artwork-724994/
Slide 9: Coloured cacti by Scott Webb
https://www.pexels.com/photo/art-artistic-beautiful-bloom-311458/
Slide 10: Leaves by Min An
https://www.pexels.com/photo/green-leaf-1353938/
Slide 11: Coloured pencils by Plush Design Studio
https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-photography-of-colored-pencils-743986/
Slide 12: Trees, mountains and lake by Snapwire
https://www.pexels.com/photo/body-of-water-next-to-mountain-during-day-time-113727/
LJW (29/11/2018)