If you see me walking around my neighborhood, you’ll find my with my headset in. I’m either talking on the phone or grooving to 1980s cardio music on Pandora. When I hike, however, I am out to be with nature (and avoid the gym!) so I leave the headset at home.
When I first started hiking, I was under the impression that nature was quiet. That was quickly dispelled. Not only do boots walking on rocky trails make noise, there are always birds singing (or sounding the alarm), various critters scurrying in the underbrush, and the sound of wind whipping through the plant life.
While it is far from quiet, it is definitely relaxing. Since hiking is a solo activity for me (despite the signs warning of mountain lions, rattle snakes, and poison oak – not that a hiking partner could help with the latter), it is one of the few times in my life when I have no desire to speak. I am simply in the moment … or at least in my own little world.
The fact that nature is loud was drilled into me the last time I went to the beach. Holy cow! Surf, even when it is not much to look at, can be deafening.
All of this got me wondering about quiet places. The Googles showed me that there is a quiet room that is -9.4 decibels. I don’t know that I’d like it to be so quiet that I can hear my blood pump or food digesting.
The record for lasting in the room is 45 minutes. You’d think it could make for an excellent place to sleep; I’m guessing, though, that the sound of blood pumping becomes too deafening to allow that to happen.
Where do you go to get away from man-made sounds? or How good does the quiet room sound to you?
Grown Up, Now What? 
I want to try that room. That would be crazy. I just googled it and apparently going any longer than 30 minutes is difficult for most people – I think the article described as “it will make you go crazy”. Maybe I’m a little weird, but that sounds like a challenge to me. Anyway, you’re right about nature – there’s so much sound to it even though we usually think of it as quiet. But that’s kind of what I love about it – the random noise puts me at ease.
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I wonder about that quiet room – are the subjects simply sitting in there with nothing to do?
If I could bring in a project I needed to get done, I bet I could do better than 30 minutes without going crazy!
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I’m pretty sure that my claustrophobia would prohibit me from being able to spend time in the Google quiet room. No thank you! My very favorite place for “quiet” is to be by water: crashing waves, a babbling brook or even a man-made fountain. Not quiet at all but soothing for sure! I guess there is something about the soothing sound and the beauty of the water itself.
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Hi Mo! I also love the sound of running water. The picture in this post is of a local park filled with trails, many of which run by the San Diego River (the name sounds more impressive in size than it is – stream is more like it). I love when I can hear the water, but not see it, and suddenly I round a bend and there it is.
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I agree. I so love love the sound of nature. It soothes the soul.
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It is a wonderful sound – peaceful, even if it is noisy.
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