5 ms·

I moved to NYC a few months ago, from Long Island, and I have been experiencing morning headaches. If I look at my sleep logger app, I notice that after around

I moved to NYC a few months ago, from Long Island, and I have been experiencing morning headaches. If I look at my sleep logger app, I notice that after around 5-6 AM, my sleep quality goes way down and moves into mostly light sleep, almost no deep sleep or REM. There's definitely something to be said about how street noise affects our sleep patterns. For me, I'll have to try using earplugs more, but the stress on my ears isn't so nice because I'm a side sleeper. I wish I could just go to bed earlier, but I work on a remote team which is half in LA, and it would be counterproductive if I wasn't able to stay up past 10-11 PM... not to mention my schedule would conflict with that of my friends and roommates.

bonniemuffin 11y ago
Have you tried adding white noise, like sleeping with a fan on? I find it just as effective as earplugs, which make my ear canals hurt if I wear them all night. For me, it's not the volume of noise that hurts my sleep quality; it's the variations in the noise.
- great_kraken 11y ago
  Hmm, I used to sleep with a fan on back in college for the heat and I did get used to it at the time. Maybe I'll try some white noise. Thanks.
- SeanDav 11y ago
  Consistent white noise absolutely works.
- scurvy 11y ago
  FWIW, pink noise helped tremendously with my urban-noise-induced tinnitus at night.
- sathackr 11y ago
  agreed. I grew up sleeping 35ft from a busy highway with rumble strips. A 5000btu window unit air conditoner 3ft from my head drowned it all out. I sleep with a small fan running in the corner now and use a white noise app on my phone when I'm away from home.
chairmankaga 11y ago
I'm also a side sleeper and had trouble with normal earplugs. A month back I bought these DIY custom molded earplugs. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003A28OW6 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003A28OW6 I use them every night with no discomfort, they do a better job of blocking out noise and they stick in all night regardless of my tossing and turning.
- great_kraken 11y ago
  How long do they last you, on average? I've seen these before but worried about them breaking down. I may look into getting some custom molded silicone sleep plugs in the future, I have some noise attenuating ones already for concerts and they're pretty comfortable.
  - chairmankaga 11y ago
    I've had them a little over a month and show no signs of breaking down.
  - PhantomGremlin 11y ago
    Here are dirt cheap earplugs for you, Home Depot sells many similar variations by 3M: http://www.homedepot.com/p/3M-Orange-Disposable-Earplugs-7-Pairs-Pack-92077-7-20DC/202080168 http://www.homedepot.com/p/3M-Orange-Disposable-Earplugs-7-P... You can take a pair of scissors and slightly trim from the big (non-rounded) end, so that they aren't long enough to interfere with side sleeping, but they are still long enough that you can easily pull them out in the morning. I haven't tried custom silicone earplugs, but these disposable ones are very soft and comfortable. You twirl them into a smaller thickness and they gently expand once you insert them. I started using them a number of years ago when the guy in the house next door got a very loud dog that he insisted stay outside at night and/or early morning. So of course the dog did nothing but whine and bark! Fortunately he finally got rid of the dog. A single "disposable" pair of plugs can last a week, or even a month if you want. The sound effectiveness decreases slightly over multiple uses. But that's OK. They start out really quiet, they claim something close to 30 dB. So if they're only 15 dB after multiple uses, that's OK. You probably don't want total isolation anyway.
lgieron 11y ago
Extended use of earplugs (say every night for a couple years) can be a contributing cause to developing tinnitus.
- driverdan 11y ago
  Source?
  - nordsieck 11y ago
    https://www.reddit.com/r/tinnitus/comments/34k8si/does_sleeping_with_ear_plugs_cause_tinnitus/cqz5tgs https://www.reddit.com/r/tinnitus/comments/34k8si/does_sleep... It looks like it's not earplugs, but sensory deprivation that can cause tinnitus. If you're listening to a normal volume of noise for at least a few hours a days, it won't be a problem.
- dazc 11y ago
  Dunno if this is true but if you're already afflicted prolonged use of earplugs will make it a lot worse, in my experience.
Futurebot 11y ago
I've used ear plugs for a long time; they really help. My current favorites are the Moldex 6604 Sparkplugs. Even as a side-sleeper, they work great for me.
mleonhard 11y ago
This white noise maker has worked well for me for 8 years: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000LQI2S0 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000LQI2S0 They work by increasing the volume of the background noise. Sounds that would normally affect or you sleep end up blending in with the background noise.
osxrand 11y ago
Try this site, I use it occasionally to help me ignore the fan / vibration noise in this building and it works really well (for my purposes at least). There are plenty of different presets to choose from or tune your own. http://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/throatSingingDroneGenerator.php http://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/throatSingingDroneGenerator... I use that one, Darkness, overall volume up a little and first two sliders down a little. Works like a charm.
dakna 11y ago
I'm a side sleeper as well and I have been using Ohropax Classic earplugs for years. They are made out of wax, so you can roll and bend them a bit. This way they fit in my ears, nothing sticks out. German company, but available in the US: http://www.amazon.com/Ohropax-Reusable-cotton-Plugs-Carrying/dp/B00S58SRZO/ http://www.amazon.com/Ohropax-Reusable-cotton-Plugs-Carrying...

bonniemuffin 11y ago

Have you tried adding white noise, like sleeping with a fan on? I find it just as effective as earplugs, which make my ear canals hurt if I wear them all night. For me, it's not the volume of noise that hurts my sleep quality; it's the variations in the noise.

great_kraken 11y ago
Hmm, I used to sleep with a fan on back in college for the heat and I did get used to it at the time. Maybe I'll try some white noise. Thanks.
SeanDav 11y ago
Consistent white noise absolutely works.
scurvy 11y ago
FWIW, pink noise helped tremendously with my urban-noise-induced tinnitus at night.
sathackr 11y ago
agreed. I grew up sleeping 35ft from a busy highway with rumble strips. A 5000btu window unit air conditoner 3ft from my head drowned it all out. I sleep with a small fan running in the corner now and use a white noise app on my phone when I'm away from home.

chairmankaga 11y ago

I'm also a side sleeper and had trouble with normal earplugs. A month back I bought these DIY custom molded earplugs. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003A28OW6 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003A28OW6 I use them every night with no discomfort, they do a better job of blocking out noise and they stick in all night regardless of my tossing and turning.

great_kraken 11y ago
How long do they last you, on average? I've seen these before but worried about them breaking down. I may look into getting some custom molded silicone sleep plugs in the future, I have some noise attenuating ones already for concerts and they're pretty comfortable.
- chairmankaga 11y ago
  I've had them a little over a month and show no signs of breaking down.
- PhantomGremlin 11y ago
  Here are dirt cheap earplugs for you, Home Depot sells many similar variations by 3M: http://www.homedepot.com/p/3M-Orange-Disposable-Earplugs-7-Pairs-Pack-92077-7-20DC/202080168 http://www.homedepot.com/p/3M-Orange-Disposable-Earplugs-7-P... You can take a pair of scissors and slightly trim from the big (non-rounded) end, so that they aren't long enough to interfere with side sleeping, but they are still long enough that you can easily pull them out in the morning. I haven't tried custom silicone earplugs, but these disposable ones are very soft and comfortable. You twirl them into a smaller thickness and they gently expand once you insert them. I started using them a number of years ago when the guy in the house next door got a very loud dog that he insisted stay outside at night and/or early morning. So of course the dog did nothing but whine and bark! Fortunately he finally got rid of the dog. A single "disposable" pair of plugs can last a week, or even a month if you want. The sound effectiveness decreases slightly over multiple uses. But that's OK. They start out really quiet, they claim something close to 30 dB. So if they're only 15 dB after multiple uses, that's OK. You probably don't want total isolation anyway.

lgieron 11y ago

Extended use of earplugs (say every night for a couple years) can be a contributing cause to developing tinnitus.

driverdan 11y ago
Source?
- nordsieck 11y ago
  https://www.reddit.com/r/tinnitus/comments/34k8si/does_sleeping_with_ear_plugs_cause_tinnitus/cqz5tgs https://www.reddit.com/r/tinnitus/comments/34k8si/does_sleep... It looks like it's not earplugs, but sensory deprivation that can cause tinnitus. If you're listening to a normal volume of noise for at least a few hours a days, it won't be a problem.
dazc 11y ago
Dunno if this is true but if you're already afflicted prolonged use of earplugs will make it a lot worse, in my experience.

Futurebot 11y ago

I've used ear plugs for a long time; they really help. My current favorites are the Moldex 6604 Sparkplugs. Even as a side-sleeper, they work great for me.

mleonhard 11y ago

This white noise maker has worked well for me for 8 years: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000LQI2S0 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000LQI2S0 They work by increasing the volume of the background noise. Sounds that would normally affect or you sleep end up blending in with the background noise.

osxrand 11y ago

Try this site, I use it occasionally to help me ignore the fan / vibration noise in this building and it works really well (for my purposes at least). There are plenty of different presets to choose from or tune your own. http://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/throatSingingDroneGenerator.php http://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/throatSingingDroneGenerator... I use that one, Darkness, overall volume up a little and first two sliders down a little. Works like a charm.

dakna 11y ago

I'm a side sleeper as well and I have been using Ohropax Classic earplugs for years. They are made out of wax, so you can roll and bend them a bit. This way they fit in my ears, nothing sticks out. German company, but available in the US: http://www.amazon.com/Ohropax-Reusable-cotton-Plugs-Carrying/dp/B00S58SRZO/ http://www.amazon.com/Ohropax-Reusable-cotton-Plugs-Carrying...