Hi friends,
Today I dropped by a co-working space in Barcelona. And to my pleasant surprise, they have a silent area (proper silence).
So I've been sitting here all morning and I got genuinely emotional. It made me realize how rare this feeling has become. Just… quiet.
I live in one of the noisiest cities on the planet. A 2024 Preply study ranked Barcelona as one of the loudest city in Europe and 6th in the world. So yeah. It's loud here.
But when I really think about what's bothers me the most, it’s not the traffic.
It’s a ‘modern’ layer: digital noise pollution.
It's the guy on the metro doom-scrolling a reel at full volume. It's the woman video-calling her friend on speaker in the park. It's my neighbor taking a work call on the balcony while I'm trying to solve my Sudoku.
There's actually a word for this now - "blasterbating" - the loud consumption of digital content that's only meant for you, but that everyone around you is forced to hear.
The shared auditory space we used to respect is disappearing…
The Noise Floor
In audio engineering, the noise floor is the baseline level of background noise in a recording - like the hum you can't get rid of, the static that's always there even when nothing's playing.
I like to think we all have a personal noise floor.
It's not just the city or nature around us. It's the podcast on our morning walk. The YouTube video while we cook. The notification pings.
Our noise floor has been rising for years and it can’t be healthy.
The Power of Silence
In 2013, a Duke University researcher named Imke Kirste was studying how different sounds affect mouse brains.
She tested music, white noise, baby mouse calls, and silence. Every sound produced short-term brain changes.
But only silence produced something lasting.
Two hours of daily silence generated new neurons in the hippocampus — the part of your brain responsible for memory, learning, and emotional regulation.
The new cells didn't just appear. They differentiated into functioning neurons and integrated into the brain's network.
The absence of input can turn into an active ingredient for your brain.
Modern-Day Silence
Real silence today goes deeper than turning off the volume.
It’s avoiding the pull.
This week, try one of these:
Find your low-volume space. A library, a park bench away from paths, a room with the door closed. Sit for 15 minutes with nothing playing.
Audit your noise floor. How many sounds are you hearing right now that you've tuned out? How often do you reach for a podcast or playlist the moment things go quiet - on a walk, in the kitchen, waiting in line? Count how many times you fill silence out of habit, not desire.
Protect one conversation. Next time you're with someone, leave your phone in your bag for the whole interaction. If you feel the itch to pull out your phone and Google something mid-conversation? Pause. Ask yourself: do I actually need this answer right now?
Final Thought
I'm writing this from that silent coworking space.
No one around me is on a call. No one is playing a video. And I can feel my brain settling into a rhythm it hasn't had in weeks.
If you live in a noisy city like me, silence may not come easy. Once you find it, why not protect it?
See you next week,
George
P.S. On a scale of 1 to 10, how noisy was it where you were when you read this? Hit reply - would love to know.
