Causes of Insomnia Part 8 Sleep Noise Pollution

What is sleep noise pollution? Noise pollution can be defined as any noise that disrupts your sleep whether it is inside or outside your bedroom. Inside noise pollution can be better controlled unlike outside noises like traffic, loud neighbors or barking dogs. Not getting enough sleep from noise disruptions can have a negative impact on your health and cause insomnia. What are the causes of sleep noise pollution?

[caption id="attachment_1748" align="alignright" width="242" caption="Sleep Noise Pollution"][/caption]

Those that live close to an airport know the negative impact from jets flying overhead. It has been well documented that people suffer from heart disease, high blood pressure and a decline in well-being all symptoms of insomnia. Big cities mean busy streets and traffic noise is one of the biggest contributors to sleep noise pollution. If you live in a big city you may also have to deal with construction noise. Although construction workers usually clock in the same time you do, some people work the late night shift and sleep during the day. Not only adjusting to a different sleep/wake cycle is difficult adding daytime noise pollution can contribute to causing insomnia. Increased noise levels inside your home can cause stress making it difficult to fall asleep easy. A baby cries  and even your partner snoring are big contributors to sleep disruption.

Many studies have shown that noise pollution can have an impact on your health. Lack of sleep causes decreased productivity and impaired long term memory. Over time you may develop chronic stress which can lower your immunity to all diseases. Because of the toll sleep noise pollution plays on your body’s stress response there are techniques you can use to reverse these changes before you suffer from chronic stress. When you go to bed try deep breathing exercises, meditation or relaxing yoga stretches.

[caption id="attachment_1747" align="alignright" width="300" caption="I'm Sleepy iPhone Sleep App Help you to fall asleep naturally"][/caption]

How can you limit the sleep noise pollution in your bedroom? For external noises you can install dual-paned windows, weather stripping and/or add insulation. Not only can this reduce noise levels it can also help with your heating and cooling bill! Turn off the TV and turn on a fan. Did you know that television commercial is at a higher decibel? You might fall asleep during your favorite late night show, but wake up to a blaring commercial in the middle of the night. A fan like white noise is a consistent sound that is soothing and helps muffle out other noises both inside and outside the bedroom. Speaking of white noise there are many sound machines on the market that play anything from waterfalls to rain to basic static that can distract you from negativity and help you to fall asleep easier. If you have an iPhone there is a free app called I’m Sleepy that is designed to help you drift off into natural sleep by offering 10 studio quality ambient sound effects like, thunder, crickets, river, light rain and airplane cabin. If you count sheep, I’m Sleepy offers a different option to count balloons as they float up.

The content provided in Causes of Insomnia Part 8 Sleep Noise Pollution is for information purposes only, intended to raise the awareness of different solutions for you or your families sleep problems and should not be considered medical advice. For medical diagnosis and treatment, please see your qualified health-care professional.