3 ms·
I used to live in a flat with a window onto the main road and I would violently wake up 4-6x every night and my heart rate would be through the roof. It's not e
by bsd44 6y ago
I used to live in a flat with a window onto the main road and I would violently wake up 4-6x every night and my heart rate would be through the roof. It's not easy to go back to sleep after that. I can get used to consistent noise and filter it out, but I can never get used to an extremely loud noise coming rapidly out of dead silence. Those were mostly custom exhausts, motorcycles and sirens.
If I really needed sleep I would get myself drunk for a week straight, that was the only time I slept through the night. But the chronic lack of sleep and sleep disturbance made me generally angry and quick to explode at every little thing. I was really miserable for years. Luckily I saved enough money to move to a quiet cul de sac.
I honestly can't wait for electric cars to come en mass, even if it costs the environment the same or more than ICE, because you can't complain about noise pollution in a way that someone would take you seriously. Everyone just waves their hand "it's just a loud car passing by", but they don't see the negative consequences that has for both mental and physical health.
- zemvpferreira 6y agoI'm sorry you went through that awful situation but... was there anything stopping you from wearing earplugs? I religiously wear the best earplugs and face mask I can find to sleep. Even in controlled environments, they make a hell of a difference.
- learnstats2 6y agoWhen I lived on a similar main road, I ended up with some form of noise turned up as loud as possible (to attempt to mute sirens), and I wore ear plugs to minimise that, and I still occasionally got woken up by the vibration of a large or loud vehicle passing by.
- bitcurious 6y agoWhat are the best earplugs in your opinion?
- zemvpferreira 6y agoI haven't found anything better than classic foam earplugs - 3M, Mack's, any good brand will be a safe choice. The biggest difference comes from using proper technique to insert them. Mask-wise I really like the Tempur-pedic sleep mask. I dislike their mattresses intensely but the mask is really good, especially for airplane sleeping.
- aleclarsoniv 6y agoHow would you hear your fire alarm?
- zemvpferreira 6y agoI don't think I've ever had one :)
- bsd44 6y agoI considered using earplugs, but I researched it online and I learned that using them regularly can cause health problems related to your ears. They are meant to be used on occasion not for a prolonged periods of time, so I abandoned the idea. I also tried white noise generators, but those were only effective against neighbours and not outside traffic. In the end, knocking myself out with a bottle of wine was the only thing that worked. That's not something I would do regularly, but once every few months when the lack of sleep would start to affect me badly in every possible way. After I moved to a quiet place, my life improved tenfold in a space of few weeks. The only thing that stayed with me is an elevated sensitivity to noise (a kind of trauma but instead of being afraid I get mad at the noise origin).