Live data from Hacker News

The Effect of Noise on Sleep

empirical.health

11–20 of 202 posts

Re: The Effect of Noise on Sleep

#11

I find this hard to believe this is universally true. I sleep much worse without noise. I use a fan or a speaker to add noise to the room. If I don't, I wake up constantly.

This is an interesting hypotheses—I think we could test it by looking at intra-night variance in noise. I’ll try to do a follow up!

Re: The Effect of Noise on Sleep

#12
post #8
post #5

So just use some good quality earplugs?

I personally would not be able to sleep well with earplugs. The feeling of pressure in my ears, combined with the 'pushing' of the earplug if I rolled over to lay on my side would be very uncomfortable.

Try “3M earplugs yellow” on amazon. They are pretty much fully immersed in the ear (for me), and the insulation is very good. The pressure - yeah it took maybe a few days to get used to, but…

The effects for me (living in Brussels city centre, so quite noisy - police, ambulance, sometimes loud tourists past midnight, and a bit of construction at 6am nearby to keep it real :-) ) were very pronounced:

From needing 9 hours and feeling groggy in the mornings anyway, to easily going on 7-8, feeling very refreshed and alert each day.

A cool side effect was that this superpower works also while traveling - so, I no longer care how noisy the airco is in the hotel room, being next to the lift, or having the window above the lively bar.

The only downside with those earplugs that they are good maybe for 3-4 nights and then are too squished to be useful; but the upsides more than make it up for me.

Re: The Effect of Noise on Sleep

#13
post #8
post #5

So just use some good quality earplugs?

I personally would not be able to sleep well with earplugs. The feeling of pressure in my ears, combined with the 'pushing' of the earplug if I rolled over to lay on my side would be very uncomfortable.

I've found success with silicon plugs, typically marketed at swimmers. They're like little balls of soft material that you roll up and squish over the entrance, without inserting into the ear. They lay pretty flat and I can sleep on my side with them in. Now that my third neighbor in a row has acquired the loudest, most constantly barking outdoor dog imaginable, I functionally cannot sleep without them.

Re: The Effect of Noise on Sleep

#15
I've been having issues sleeping lately, and a few days ago, the flat below us started demolishing walls at 8am. This has been going on for a week, and I've never slept better. It sounds like they're demolishing the floor I'm sleeping on, but somehow I can just ignore it and sleep soundly, whereas normally I wake up with the smallest sound, like a dog barking outside my soundproof windows.

Very odd.

Re: The Effect of Noise on Sleep

#18
post #12
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I personally would not be able to sleep well with earplugs. The feeling of pressure in my ears, combined with the 'pushing' of the earplug if I rolled over to lay on my side would be very uncomfortable.

Try “3M earplugs yellow” on amazon. They are pretty much fully immersed in the ear (for me), and the insulation is very good. The pressure - yeah it took maybe a few days to get used to, but… The effects for me (living in Brussels city centre, so quite noisy - police, ambulance, sometimes loud tourists past midnight, and a bit of construction at 6am nearby to keep it real :-) ) were very pronounced: From needing 9 ho…

It's rare for me to encounter another Belgian on HN but I'll definitely try this. Sleeping roadside till i have my upper floor renovated has been a disaster for my sleep and functioning.

Re: The Effect of Noise on Sleep

#19
post #8
post #5

So just use some good quality earplugs?

I personally would not be able to sleep well with earplugs. The feeling of pressure in my ears, combined with the 'pushing' of the earplug if I rolled over to lay on my side would be very uncomfortable.

This was my experience until I purchased custom molded earplugs a year ago. It's one of the best purchases I've made. They're superior to off-the-shelf plugs in many ways:

1. They don't fall out, because they "hook into" the shape of your ear.

2. They sit much closer to the inner ear, so they feel invisible when side-sleeping.

3. It's a perfect fit every time, so you don't have to worry about noise leakage or discomfort caused by pressure.

If you don't want to spend $200 on a pair of plugs from an audiologist (I'd strongly urge you to reconsider!), the best off-the-shelf alternative for me was silicone plugs. To solve the side-sleeping problem with silicone plugs, you can tear them in half or use children's versions depending on your ear canal size.

Re: The Effect of Noise on Sleep

#20
I can't tell you what sirens outside do to my sleep, but I can tell you they can be very agitating when I'm trying to fall asleep.

It's funny though how during the recent heat dome I could barely sleep after sealing the windows cause of just how dang quiet it was!

Fickle mistress sleep be.

Post reply on HN