Cells Can Hear!
We assume that we hear sound only with our ears. The truth is, your entire being responds to sound. Including your cells. And they don’t even have ears. And that response can either support health or it doesn’t.
Research conducted by Dr. John Beaulieu and Dr. George Stefano demonstrated how cells in a petrie dish responded to sound.
They were exploring the use of tuning forks to find out if the sound of the forks stimulated the cells in the petrie dish and the cells in the human subjects to release nitric oxide.
This is the healthiest natural cycle your cells have. And it’s essential to your health and wellbeing.
Well, the sound did! In less than 30 seconds both the cells in the petrie dish and the cells in the human subjects produced nitric oxide.
Cells don’t have ears. Yet they responded to the sound of the tuning fork in the same way as the human subjects who could hear the sound.
Your Nervous System Responds to Sound
Your nervous system also responds to sound with a neural cocktail of hormones that floods your entire body. Now, this can be a good thing or a bad thing.
Have you ever stood on a busy city street and noticed the sound of a loud bus or truck going through you? Or felt the booming bass from a nearby car rattle through your bones?
Well, the neural cocktail of hormones released by your nervous as a response to these sounds floods your body with stress hormones.
The European Union has been studying the health problems created by traffic noise. They’ve found that 15 million people can’t sleep. Over 200,000 people develop heart conditions. And of those 50,000 people die. Every year. And 125 million people develop health problems because of the stress created by the traffic noise.
Your body’s response to noise – even if you are ignoring it – is to release hormones that over time, create serious, ongoing health problems. We live in a world of unprecedented speed and noise. And this speed and noise affects you even if you are ignoring it or unaware of it.
Ok. So that’s bad news. What’s the good news?
Whenever you sing with others, play music with others or listen to your favorite tunes, your nervous system responds with a flood of hormones that boosts your immune system, creates happiness and joy, bonds you together with others in community and more.
And that’s good news.
Healthy Sound
Nature sounds like soft, bubbling water, waves, birdsong, a gentle summer breeze rustling the leaves in the trees are also sounds that stimulate your nervous system to flood you with hormones that make you feel good and create health.
There is a new medical condition emerging that is often called Nature Deficit Disorder. Many people who live in cities are missing the health benefits provided by nature.
Ed and I live in a city. Our house is near three major roadways. Three main bus routes stop right beside our house, in addition to several school buses in the mornings and afternoons. This location is not ideal.
So what do I do? I focus on and pay attention to the songs of the birds and walk through the parks a couple of blocks away, listening to the wind in the trees and the insects buzzing around. Or notice the profound silence in the woods on a cold winter day.
I lean against a tree and feel the energy from the sun travel down through the tree and the energy from the earth travel up through the roots. It reminds me that I do that too. It also reminds me to ground back into my body, especially if I have been working a lot in my ‘head’ that day.
We built a little pond in our back yard, surrounded by a garden. The pond has a waterfall and little fountain. The garden has a birdbath to attract birds and birdsong. It’s a beautiful place to stimulate health, even amongst the noise.
I challenge you to become aware of the sounds around you during your day. To listen with your cells, listen with your bones, listen with your nervous system. How are they responding to these sounds?
This awareness empowers you immensely! You will know what sounds to encourage in your environment that supports your wellbeing. And what sounds to remove or limit in your environment.