The Sound Of Rain: Melody Of Calm For Our Brain

The sound of the rain has an unmistakable, rhythmic and calm tinkle that echoes in the glass of our windows and in the pavements of the streets. It is the melody of heaven when it gets angry, of nature when it is renewed and it is above all, that evocative frequency that calms our brain with its indescribable effect, the same one that facilitates our rest or awakens our imagination …

Henry Beston, a well-known naturalist and writer, used to say that few sounds are as elemental on our planet as the roar of waves crawling on the surface of the oceans and the rain descending on our cities. Somehow, everything aquatic, everything that has to do with water awakens our senses and fascination.

It is clear, however, that not all the population has the features of a true rainforest. Not everyone feels comfortable or safe when the sky is paved with clouds, the light turns ashen and everything is blurred in the presence of a storm. However, the data is there. Just take a look at YouTube or Spotify on this topic to discover that,  when it comes to relaxing, we love listening to the sound of the rain.

That this is so, that this type of cadence, of auditory rhythm, produces that effect in our brain and our mind is due to a series of very specific factors. Let’s get to know them.

The sound of rain, the sound of calm

The crash of the ocean waves breaking on the rocks, a flowing river, the falling rain … Many people experience a pleasant sensation when they hear these types of watery sounds. Now, more than pleasure or calm, what a neurologist would say is that what we perceive is a feeling of “no threat”.

It is very possible that more than one of our readers will be surprised to learn this information. The natural phenomena associated with water are not exactly exempt from danger for us, we know.

The sea, with its force, causes disasters, just like the rain. However, it is about  focusing exclusively on the sounds that these elements evoke: they are rhythmic, follow a repetitive interval and are located at that decibel threshold where our brain enters a state of calm.

For its part, any auditory stimulus that exceeds 70 decibels and that appears suddenly or shows some irregularity, will be interpreted by our brain structures as a threat. This is exactly what Pennsylvania State University concluded in a study conducted in 2012. People are biologically prepared to react to unexpected sounds, screams and shrill auditory stimuli.

All this explains why the irregular sound of traffic, people who raise their voices or all that range of noises that inhabit the jungle of our cities generate stress and psychological exhaustion. Our brain needs environmental harmony and that acoustic balance – uniform in its frequencies – generates calm. Only then does it gratify us with endorphins, only then does it give us that ideal well-being to rest or even enter a placid state of introspection.

White noise or acoustic camouflage

There are many people who listen to the sound of the rain to fall asleep. If our insomnia is occasional and mainly associated with stress, it is highly recommended to make use of these types of resources. Dr. Orfeu Buxton, a Harvard professor and expert in sleep disorders, explains in his work that a good part of his patients benefit from what he calls “acoustic camouflage”.

This term designates all those sounds of uniform frequencies that “turn off” the feeling of threat present in the brain of many people. When we live a life with a lot of pressure, stress and anxiety, there are certain areas of the brain that are always “alert” and on the defensive.

What we achieve with the sound of rain or with white noise (a sound signal that contains all frequencies and with the same power) is to have a kind of camouflage. It is offering the brain something that generates a feeling of control, a repetitive acoustic pattern to convince it that there are no external threats. That everything is calm.

In a world collapsed to the extreme by unexpected stimuli, our brain needs moments where everything is predictable. Moments where nothing interrupts us, where life is limited to flow, to be contained in a perfect time of harmony and balance. The sound of the rain achieves it, nature and its phenomena put us in contact with our roots and essences, they take us to that private corner where we limit ourselves to being and being.

Finally, we cannot ignore another sensational effect of the rain. Beyond its sound is its petrichor, that unmistakable aroma of wet earth, that geosmin that is suspended in the environment and that captivates us with its fragrance, bringing us memories and transmitting pleasant sensations.