Forget kale smoothies and juice cleanses, the latest wellness craze might have you saying, "Shhh!" Yes, you heard that right. We're talking about speech fasting till mid-day.
Recently, Scottish singer Lulu Kennedy Cairns sparked a quiet revolution when she revealed her secret for vocal health: Keeping mum until midday. As she told Britsh media house The Guardian, she practices a form of "extended silence," where she isn't "even allowed to whisper".
Silence can be golden
Imagine this: A blissful morning where you sip your coffee in glorious silence, basking in the quietude before the daily chatter kicks in. Sounds pretty dreamy, doesn't it?
Is it realistic though?
Here’s what research has to say. According to a 2005 study titled The Importance of Silence published by the American National Institutes of Health (NIH), determined that periods of silence led to “dramatically lowered blood pressure” for participants who practised speech fasting. Another 2021 study, also published in the NIH concluded that periods of silence also lowered stress levels for participants who practised speech fasting.
Silence can be golden; it could be the secret to better physical and mental health, as psychologists weigh in. “The world around us is so noisy and chaotic, be it running our busy households, or trying to get work done,” explains Linda Lane, a Dubai-based British mindset coach and psychologist. “It helps to just stay quiet, settle into your mind and body, stimulate your brain and redirect your attention to the present moment,” she says. It is a meditative experience. It helps to quieten the mind, and we get more in touch with our internal world. It’s a deeply reflective practice that allows us to look at stressful situations with vigour, she adds. It could even give you time for creative insights. “You choose calm over chaos; it’s like reclaiming your time and spirit, and could prove to be a complete mood booster,” says Lane. “It’s a unique form of self-care.”
By temporarily refraining from speaking we can really tune in to our communication on a deeper level, and remind ourselves that communication is a two-way process....
As Louis Fourie, a clinical psychologist at the German Neuroscience Center adds, "It can be beneficial for some people as it allows for extended periods of introspection and mindfulness practice, which can lead to increased focus, reduced stress levels, and enhanced emotional well-being," he says.
This period of quiet time, allows you the chance to observe and accept your thoughts and feelings without judgement. It helps with training you in empathy: You do become a better listener. "By temporarily refraining from speaking we can really tune in to our communication on a deeper level, and remind ourselves that communication is a two-way process. Best of all speech fasting can create silent space for us to ponder, reflect and truly listen to the needs of those around us, be that friends, colleagues, clients and even ourselves," says Shelley Bosworth, a Dubai-based mindset coach. If we delve a bit deeper speech fasting can actually deepen our connection with ourselves and others, creating many benefits in our personal and professional lives, she adds
Many find this to be a challenge. “People need to understand the comfort of silence within themselves as well as their external world. It’s a way of just taking a pause, giving your brain a rest sometimes, as it is permanently on overdrive,” explains Claire Hale, a British Dubai-based psychologist. “When you create a moment of silence during the day, you’re giving the brain some time to process the new information coming in,” she says.
Is it practical?
Now, how conducive and practical is it to “keep quiet till mid-day” as the recent wellness trends suggest? “These trends, helpful as they are, tend to gloss over the actual problem and reduce it to just being a fad,” adds Hale. It all sounds very well to say, “I’ll stay quiet till mid-day”, yet, it’s highly impractical, and moreover impossible, she adds. We’re all going to work, and our jobs require us to speak to people. We have things to do, that requires speaking, she says. The idea is to focus on silence: Benefit from moments of silent, peaceful moments - not to try and prove something to someone else.
“To be sure, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. Speech fasting might be ideal for introverts or those seeking a digital detox. However, if your job requires constant communication, staying silent all morning might not be practical,” says Hale. “The key is to experiment and see how it makes you feel. After all, sometimes the best way to find your voice is to take a break from using it,” she says.
If you really want to practise speech fasting, find a way to strike a balance, she points out:
Start small: Don't try to be completely silent all at once. Begin with short bursts and gradually increase the duration as you get comfortable.
Find your quiet space: A noisy environment will make speech fasting much harder. If possible, carve out some peaceful time at home, in Nature, or with noise-cancelling headphones.
Be flexible: Speech fasting doesn't have to be all-or-nothing. Adjust it to fit your schedule and comfort level.
‘The world needs a little chatter’
Catherine Berkley, a Canadian Dubai-based psychologist and mindset coach, finds these trends a little exhausting. Quoting from a personal editorial on on The Toronto Star, “What’s next? Sight fasting?” Acknowledging the power of these trends and that they do reach the masses with their wellness messages, she does add, “We need to look at the whole picture, rather just taking one point and trying it out. Silence in moderation, yes, is beneficial - everyone needs their silent moments, every once in a while,” she says, explaining that it isn’t a magical solution to gaining empathy and enhancing communication.
It is also essential to recognise that prolonged periods of silence may not be suitable for everyone and could potentially lead to feelings of isolation or disconnection from social interactions...
“You need little conversations in your daily life, with yourself and with others,” she says. There’s so much to gain from minor interactions with people around you, be it a person you run into at the coffee shop, your cab driver, or your colleague’s anecdotes about how she navigated traffic and still made it to office on time. “These minor interactions also benefit us deeply - we would miss out on so much, if we just tried staying silent till mid-day. We do need to question out loud, and talk out loud too,” she says.
We need a little conversation with ourselves, as she emphasises. Quoting a 2017 Harvard Business Review article, she elaborates on the idea of ‘self-explanations’. “One effective learning strategy is self-explaining. This approach involves asking yourself explanatory questions like, ‘What does this mean?’ It really helps to say them out loud. Studies show people who explain ideas to themselves learn almost three times more than those who don’t,” she says.
Moreover, not everyone finds silence comfortable. It is also essential to recognise that prolonged periods of silence may not be suitable for everyone and could potentially lead to feelings of isolation or disconnection from social interactions, adds Fourie. Furthermore, it could fuel anxiety, explains Hale. “I remember a friend, who would need to just say something – anything -if things got too quiet. I would just be sitting and enjoying my coffee on the balcony with her, and she would just keep talking. The idea of silence made her uneasy. She felt it an eerie sign of lack of communication as she said, and so kept talking to evade the stillness. It made her deeply uncomfortable to just sit alone with herself,” recalls Hale, adding that not many prefer to examine their thoughts in silence, and need to look for other ways to center themselves. “You need to be realistic about your lifestyle and communication needs. The key is to find a balance that works for you,” she concludes.
