

Study: Noise During Sleep Impairs Morning Performance - cwan
http://www.futurepundit.com/archives/007242.html

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lallysingh
The 2nd Ave subway line started construction a few weeks after I moved in
here. Just a few days sleep during a vacation made me a new man. A jackhammer
makes a terrible alarm clock -- even if it's on the time you want to wake up
at.

If anyone's doing a startup involving maps (e.g. google maps or earth), please
put in estimation methods for ambient noise in an area.

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cema
You live in the default city, right?

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illicium
Default City's in Russia :p

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cema
:-)

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mikeleeorg
I wonder if it's the dissonance & unpredictability of this noise that
contributes to the sleep impairment. Or if it's the duration of the sounds
throughout the sleep period.

I make this assumption because music is known to aid sleep:
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4228707.stm>

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yesimahuman
Or perhaps why a loud fan (that doesn't click or make strange noises) is great
for sleeping, in my very sound sensitive experience?

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mikeleeorg
Perhaps that loud fan is generating enough gentle white noise for you. A quote
from the below article states:

"Some people benefit from white noise, or fans. Make sure you have effective
blinds, or earplugs, if they help. It's all about reducing distractions and
sending a message to your brain about your safety."

[http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-
families/...](http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-
families/features/dont-sleep-longer-ndash-sleep-smarter-1994018.html)

Interestingly, as I was doing my "research" (well, just some web searches
really), I came across studies that claimed white noise can impair brain
development in sleeping baby rats:

"When baby rats listened to white noise for prolonged periods of time, a part
of the brain responsible for hearing, called the auditory cortex, didn't
develop properly. However, when the noise was taken away, the young rats'
brains were able to resume normal development."

[http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/97/white_noise_may_dela...](http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/97/white_noise_may_delay_babys_speech/index.html)

I haven't found any articles showing whether or not this phenomenon has been
tested on humans yet.

I suppose one takeaway from all of this research is that we need to continue
doing more research.

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jrockway
I sleep with earplugs every night. It's very relaxing.

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DenisM
It's not clear from summary if you get used to it after prolonged exposure.

It does, however, tempt me to get earplugs...

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chaosmachine
On the other hand, what are the long term effects of blocking up your ears at
night?

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kragen
3.6ms? Your reaction time increases from about 500ms to about 503.6ms? I'm
amazed they were able to measure that at all — it must have been a huge study
— but why should we care? Too bad the article didn't link to the paper.

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lelele
That confirms my own experience. I currently live in a noisy flat. When I
started sleeping with earplugs, I started waking up way more alert and ready.

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fretlessjazz
Maybe this is why my wife hates the fact that I snore like a table saw?

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d_c
Who would have thought that...

Earplugs ftw or pay double the rent.

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greenlblue
False. For the last 3 weeks I've been sleeping in a place where the clock
chimes on the hour and every half hour and there is constant car traffic. I
feel better in this environment than I did at my old and quite place.

