Studies have shown that background noise increases stress even when we are not consciously aware of it. The best reference I could find with minimal effort is a

Studies have shown that background noise increases stress even when we are not consciously aware of it. The best reference I could find with minimal effort is about halfway down ("How does background noise affect our concentration?"): https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ask-the-brains-background-noise/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ask-the-brains-ba... Several studies have indicated that stress resulting from ongoing white noise can induce the release of cortisol . . .