From the beginning of June, everything goes quiet in German Ikea stores on Wednesdays between 5 and 7 pm – no music, dim lighting and no announcements over the PA system (except in case of emergency). Overall, customers and employees are experiencing less stress on their senses – and that’s the whole idea behind quiet time.
The concept stemmed from an initiative of the German association Together. “We want quiet time to provide respite to people with invisible disabilities. Their nervous systems are often permanently overwhelmed, which is why we want to provide them with moments of respite with less sensory stimulation,” association spokesperson Rebecca Lefevre told DW.
Quiet hours are meant to break down the barriers that often prevent sensory sensitive individuals from even leaving the house to avoid overload, which can hinder communication and result in social isolation.
Able-bodied people are often not consciously aware of how going shopping in a supermarket or furniture store can be a real shock to the senses in so many different ways. The colorful signs, rattling shopping carts and different overlapping scents are overwhelming for many people, including people with autism spectrum disorder, ADHD or those suffering from chronic fatigue, chronic pain, psychological disorders or other conditions that affect their senses.
‘The main goal is to increase awareness’
The originator of Quiet Hour is Theo Hogg from New Zealand, who has an autistic child and works in a supermarket chain. In 2019, he convinced his employer to introduce “quiet time” in all stores across the country.
Since then, many countries have followed his lead.
Germany has its own initiative for inclusion from 2023. “For us, raising awareness is the main goal,” Lefevre explained. “People with this type of disability often cannot say what the exact problem is, and their conditions are not visible to others. These people are often simply told that they are just pretending.”
More and more German businesses and stores are observing quiet times – including many Edeka and Rewe supermarkets.
Rudolf Schmidt runs one such reve in Dieges, near Frankfurt, where there is quiet time every Wednesday from 3 to 4 pm. Employees dim the lights, turn off cash register beeping sounds and postpone stocking shelves.
“And if someone is talking loudly on the phone, we politely ask them to end the call,” Schmidt said.
The supermarket manager was one of the first proponents of quiet times. “Customers who come to us specifically for this reason thank us. From time to time, someone complains, ‘Is this really necessary?’ But when we explain things, they always become more understanding,” he said.
a break from constant stimulation
LeFevre emphasized that quiet hours aren’t limited to stores.
Movie theaters, swimming centers and bowling alleys are also participating, he said. “We’ll probably have an indoor trampoline park soon too – where there’s extreme sensory overload. But the purpose is really just to say, we’re trying it.”
The Münster City Museum has also been involved in the initiative since February. One Tuesday each month, from 4 to 6 p.m., visitors can use an app or brochure to tour the museum on a quiet hour route. During this time, the museum stops conducting guided tours and offers a dedicated space for peace and quiet as well as communication cards.
“Of course, we don’t keep track of how many people come specifically for the quiet time, but we can already tell that people are taking advantage of it,” Axel Scholmeier, assistant director of the Stadtmuseum Münster, told DW.
The specialist gardening shop of Frank Rohde in Kassel is one of the participants featured on the initiative’s official website, stuffe-stunde.com. Rohde’s business actually follows a quiet schedule at all times during the early hours.
“We’ve always done things this way: no music, it’s quiet and we talk to our customers,” he said. “They find things pleasant that way – they don’t like too much noise either.”
Of course, in the age of constant stimulation with smartphones and social media, it is not necessary to have a psychological or neurological condition to appreciate a calming experience in a public space.
Lefevre believes this concept is a welcome bonus that also benefits people with disabilities.
“It certainly benefits a lot of people, because we live in a country of overstimulation,” he said. “But, of course, there’s a difference between someone who just thinks it’s nice to have more peace and quiet, and someone who is experiencing sensory overload that is causing them to suffer and possibly experience pain – or have them shut out of social life.”
This article was originally written in German.