How Noise Pollution Might Cause Increased Stress Levels

Noise pollution is any intrusive noise that disrupts, distracts, or detracts from regular functioning. While we often think of noise pollution as a problem of big cities, with the competing sounds of more people in a smaller space, noise pollution can also be found in suburban neighborhoods (in the form of leaf blowers, lawnmowers, and home construction) and even individual homes and workplaces.

And there is a great deal of scientific research to show that noise causes stress and can have a negative impact on your health and productivity. Chronic stress from noise pollution can cause elevated blood pressure, impaired cognitive functioning, and more.

There are a number of ways modern society contributes to noise pollution, and it seems increasingly difficult to lead more quiet lives, but with the right strategies it can be possible to limit the noise.

Causes of Noise Pollution

While there are many different sources of noise pollution, these, in particular, have been found to have a negative impact on health.

Airplanes

Noise pollution from airplanes has a significant negative impact on the health and well-being of those who live close to airports. This can include heart disease, high blood pressure, and elevated stress hormones, as well as sleep disruption.

Traffic

One of the complaints of those who live in big cities or on busy streets is the disruption from the sounds of traffic. Interestingly, though, even low levels of traffic noise can be damaging. Traffic noise is one of the most commonly experienced sources of noise pollution, and research has tied it to depressive symptoms along with cardiovascular and respiratory-related deaths.

Workplace Noise

Most of us may think of loud assembly lines or construction sites when we think of noise pollution in the workplace, and while these examples definitely apply, regular offices are not immune. With more people packed into busy office spaces, office noise is a common complaint. Co-workers who talk, drum their fingers on the desk, or offer other distracting noises can decrease the productivity of those around them without realizing it.

Home Sounds

Many people don’t think of their homes as noisy, but if there’s a lot of activity in the home, including a constantly running TV, this overall noise level can actually be a threat to concentration and a cause of stress. In fact, children from more noisy homes do suffer ill effects that include less cognitive growth, delayed language skills, increased anxiety, and impaired resilience.

Negative Effects of Noise

Perhaps the most serious problem created by sound pollution is the impact it has on health. Because sound pollution can trigger the body’s stress response, one of its major health effects is chronic stress and the high levels of stress hormones that go with it.

That explains why noise pollution has been linked with heart disease, high blood pressure, and stroke. Noise pollution can also impact sleep quality by preventing sleep and disrupting sleep cycles. And, perhaps most significantly, because chronic stress can lower your immunity to all disease, noise pollution is a general threat to health and wellness.

How to Limit the Noise

Your first line of defense against noise pollution is to do what you can to control your environment, and limit the noise that enters your space. The following are ways that you can limit environmental noise and blunt the effects of noise pollution:

• Double-paned windows and weather stripping: If you live in a noisy city or near an airport, you can reduce noise in your home considerably by installing dual-paned windows, weather stripping, and even added insulation. As a bonus, these changes can also reduce your heating and cooling bills, and help the environment.
• Reduce workplace noise: If you work in a noisy office, you may want to talk to your employer about taking steps to reduce office noise, which has been found to affect the health and productivity of workers.
• Turn off the TV: When you’re at home, a constant backdrop of television can have an effect on you as a distraction and potential stressor.
• Make bigger changes: You may even consider moving or changing jobs if you experience significant levels of noise that you can’t reduce in other ways. It sounds like a drastic step, but considering the toll that a noisy environment can take on your health, it may be an option to consider.

Replace Stressful Sounds With Pleasing Sounds

If you can’t eliminate noise from your environment, you can actually create a healthier environment by replacing stress-inducing environmental sounds with more pleasing ones.

For example, you can reduce the impact of airport or city noise with a white noise machine or sound spa. They play sounds ranging from waterfalls to rain to babbling brooks to basic static, and these sounds mask the more jarring environmental noises that can distract you or negatively affect your sleep. They can also make it easier to meditate or practice visualization techniques.

Additionally, you can drown out distracting sounds from a noisy office environment or neighborhood with music from your phone or computer and a set of noise-canceling headphones. By doing this, you can enjoy the stress management and health benefits of music while lessening the impact of the other noise. This can also improve your mood, boost your immunity, calm your physiology, or energize you.

Safeguard Your Health From Noise Pollution

Because part of the toll of noise pollution is due to the activation of the body’s stress response, it stands to reason that you can counteract some of these ill effects by regularly using techniques that can reverse your body’s physiological changes that come with chronic stress.

Some of the most effective techniques you can use include:

• Breathing Exercises: Deep breathing and other breathing exercises work well because they can be done anywhere and are effective in calming the body’s physiology in minutes.
• Meditation: Meditation is also an extremely effective stress reliever because it calms the physiology and even helps alter brain chemistry so that, over time, you are less reactive to stress as it happens.
• Yoga The practice of yoga is a great stress reliever because it combines breathing and meditation, and adds an element of exercise to be a stress reliever that acts on several different levels to benefit your health. It also provides a simple way to ease into meditation, for those who find it to be a bit of a challenge at first.

Modern society is here to stay, and with it comes plenty of noise, but with the right plan of action you will be able to find your calm in the middle of any storm, no matter how loud.