Silence, Stillness & Solitude: Rewiring Your Body and Brain
“Life Be Life-ing!” We hear this term almost daily in the office, on Tik Tok, and in our heads.
Many of us get up, check social media, get ready for work, check the news, drive through traffic, work, run errands, get dinner, check social media, watch the news and go to bed…. just to do it all over AGAIN! This relentless routine over time begins to disrupt our body and brain’s natural rhythms and causes us to short circuit.
What does this ‘short-circuit' period look like? It may include forgetting what you want to say, as you’re saying it. It may look like pervasive exhaustion, even if you get 8 hours of sleep. It may feel like you are walking an emotional tightrope, and any disruption will send you cascading into the abyss. It may look like you’re picking up weight while you’re eating less or vice versa.
This above scenario is exactly what my life looked like in 2016. The job I loved, I began to hate, my calling and purpose became confusing, because other people wanted more from me than I had the capacity to provide. Now, lets be clear, I am not blaming anyone for my condition, I was suffering from what some may call “Hurried Sickness”.
Hurried Sickness was first popularized by cardiologists Meyer Friedman and Ray Rosenman in the 1950s when they described people who were highly competitive, time-urgent, impatient, and often stressed. Over time, “hurry sickness” has been used to describe the compulsion to do everything quickly and the constant feeling of being rushed, even when it’s not necessary. My sickness was not a sudden onset, this lifestyle gradually increased over time until my body and mind adjusted to it. It caused a trickle-down effect of dysregulation in every area of my life. At 40-something I had the body of a 80-year-old and a brain of a goldfish.
I was led to go on a spiritual retreat or sabbatical, in which I was thrown into silence, stillness, solitude, and rest. Silence and stillness are not empty; they are formative. In the language of faith, they are a doorway for prayer, listening, and alignment with God. In the language of physiology, they are a daily reset that calms the stress system, refreshes attention, and supports long-term wellbeing.
I came out more focused, energized, purposeful, and determined to get my life back. This short sabbatical was only f our days, but it was the most precious days of my new journey. I recommend this for every woman who is breathing, whether or not you suffer from Hurried Sickness.
Silence also settles the autonomic nervous system. In cardiovascular experiments, brief interludes of silence produced deeper relaxation, slower heart rate, and steadier breathing — than even calming music, a sign of increased parasympathetic activity. Animal research offers another intriguing clue: daily exposure to extended silence increased new cell growth in the hippocampus, a region central to learning, memory, and emotional regulation. While this was in mice, it suggests that quiet itself may be a uniquely nourishing environment for the brain. Short, structured practices that resemble “sanctified stillness” show measurable benefits in humans, too.
You may not have the ability to do a retreat at the moment; however, you should consider a daily 16-minute quiet practice (which sits comfortably inside the evidence-based window). This length of time is long enough to calm arousal and allow constructive neural “housekeeping,” yet short enough to be practical for most people. (Think: two focused eight-minute breaths of your day.) Powering down is essential for brain function and longevity. Sixteen quiet minutes each day is a small act with outsized dividends: steadier physiology, a clearer mind, and a spirit more attuned to the voice that speaks in whispers.
Here is a practical and gentle routine to try:
Set a timer for 16 minutes.
Sit comfortably; close your eyes.
Breathe slowly through the nose and let attention rest on God’s presence or a simple prayer (ex. “Be still and know…”) as a set point.
When the mind wanders, gently return — no judgment.
End by writing one line of gratitude or intention.
Engaging this practice in your life will help combat this grind culture’s harassing message that you are not enough unless you are falling into bed exhausted. We get one chance at this thing called life. Remember that either we live life, or it rolls us over! We have the power to rewire our brains, reset our body, and reconnect to our lives.
If you would like to explore further, I recommend also taking the Hurry Sickness Test.
LaShun Franklin, MA, LLP, is a master-level psychotherapist who helps clients confront life’s challenges head-on, specializing in mood disorders, anxiety, ADHD, grief, and trauma. With a strong faith-based foundation and certifications in psychology, marriage and family therapy, and trauma care, she uses proven techniques like CBT and EMDR to guide individuals, couples, and families toward healing and purpose. For appointments, contact lashunfranklin@gmail.com or call 734-219-3198.