There was a time when silence was expected and was built into the fabric of daily life.

Think about Sunday afternoons, unplugged dinner tables, walks without earbuds, and the hum of a city before the 24/7 noise loop of pings, podcasts, sirens, and scrolling.

Now, silence feels rare and almost indulgent.

Yet it’s making a comeback—not just in wellness retreats or remote cabins but in cities, architecture, and even luxury branding. Developers are marketing soundproof windows, minimalist homes promise “visual quiet”, and some high-end hotels now include silence as an amenity. Copenhagen even has a “silent bike lane” where talking is discouraged.

During 2019, The Atlantic dubbed silence “a new luxury good,” citing how hard it is to find it in modern life and how deeply we crave it when we do.

However, silence is not only aesthetically pleasing. Studies show it boosts memory, lowers blood pressure, and increases neurogenesis in the brain. Only two minutes of quiet can be more restorative than listening to relaxing music.

In a world that won’t stop talking, the decision to go quiet, intentionally, even temporarily, is a power move.

If you find yourself closing the door, pausing the podcast, or simply sitting in your car a few minutes longer after work, then that’s your nervous system saying, “thank you.”