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noise constantly surrounds you. Your alarm clock jolts you out of sleep, honking horns and buzzing engines whiz by you on the road, you carry a cell phone which interrupts you throughout the day, as well as watch TV and listen to the radio while eating and reading. Even when you think your home is silent, there's the soft hum of electrical lighting, refrigerators and other appliances. All this noise adds to your stress levels and impacts your overall health.

Einstein proved the universe consists entirely of energy. Therefore, all the items in your physical world are frequencies of energy. Each type of matter has a specific frequency at which it vibrates, including your organs and cells. The sound of your environment is essential to your overall well-being since it impacts the frequency of your body, your own natural rhythm. According to the physical Law of Entrainment (described in Itzhah Bentov's book, Stalking the Wild Pendulum), an external rhythm will automatically override your natural internal heart rhythm, causing your heart to beat faster. Even when you lie down to watch TV, your heart rate isn't at the desired relaxed level. The TV's fast moving images, plot changes and music deny your pulse an opportunity to slow down. A loud TV raises your heart rate even further.

By not allowing your body a resting period, you aren't giving your internal organs a chance to heal or balance themselves. This imbalance can result in stress and lead to future health problems. It can weaken the immune system, increase muscle tension, over-thinking and overall tension. Ignored stress builds up in the body and suppresses the thymus gland, which in turn reduces your energy and resistance to disease. The body is a self-healing system and needs a quiet and relaxing space to heal. Without constant noise to influence and override your body's natural balance, it can restore itself to harmony.

In addition to your heartbeat and brain activity, exposure to loud sounds for a long period of time damages inner ear structures, causing noise induced hearing loss. According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), the condition affects over 28 million Americans. Anyone can develop hearing loss and it's becoming more common in children and young adults. Fifteen percent of college graduates already have hearing loss equivalent to their parents. Any noise over 90 decibels can cause damage. This includes a subway's screeching brakes, the noise in a crowded bar or restaurant and most construction zones. Hearing loss at a young age may seem insignificant, but straining to hear basic conversation adds another small element of stress to life.

The idea that sound affects health has been around for centuries. Plato believed music so profoundly affected behavior that it should be regulated by the state and that certain types of music be banned because of their negative effects. Moreover, various cultures throughout history have used music to heal. Traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurvedic healing methods and Shamans have all used sound as a part of their healing philosophies. Chanting, toning and singing bowls are used in many different cultures to heal and balance the mind and body. Whether or not you look into music therapy, chanting or toning, reducing the amount of time you are exposed to loud and fast sounds will help you relax, aid your body in its self-healing process and create a quieter mind. Until recently, music therapy had not received much attention or credibility, but it's reaching a larger American audience as more people experience the effect soothing music has on their stress levels and overall health.

There are times when fast paced music can be beneficial. For example, an up-tempo song can elevate your mood and heart rate, which will keep your energy high, help you move faster and enable you to get more out of a workout. If you have excess tension or emotional buildup, exercising to up-tempo music can help you burn off anxiety and let go of tension. After the workout, stretch to New Age or classical music to help regulate your heart rate and return the body to balance. It can also be beneficial to listen to invigorating music while cleaning or waking up in the morning.

Ideally, you want your body to be balanced and run smoothly. However, in modern society it is impossible to create a life completely devoid of stressors, especially noise. The intention is not to eliminate all popular music or TV from your life, but to be aware of what effects they have on your health, so when life is stressful, you can make choices to help balance your body and relieve stress. Here are some ways to combat the stress noise adds to your life:

* Listen to jazz or classical music while cooking and eating dinner. Not only does it give your family an opportunity to talk, the soothing sounds of jazz and classical music can aid digestion and eliminate the added stress of watching TV (especially the news) as well.

# posted by Medical Information : 1:57 AM