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I think there's a case to be made for cutting out those things, especially ones that aren't directly visible, such as ambient noise. Many people think you get
by vladvasiliu 6y ago
I think there's a case to be made for cutting out those things, especially ones that aren't directly visible, such as ambient noise.
Many people think you get used to it, and maybe you don't consciously notice it anymore, but I think that the permanent background noise to which many people are exposed in cities contributes to their stress levels. Pretty much everywhere they go, there's constant noise:
* random chatter / noises in the open office
* AC hum / vibrations / etc at the office
* traffic noise, while walking around or taking public transport
* random traffic noise / honks / etc at home if the apartment is close to a street and badly soundproofed
- yowlingcat 6y agoYou read my mind! I moved out of a big city after lockdowns, and I realized that many of these little ambient noises or mental frictions which I had grown accustomed to -- it turns out that once I cut that out, it reduced my stress levels. I think there are a lot of parallels to draw from there to the workplace or other walks of life.
- lolinder 6y agoYep. I work with ear protection on (of the sort you'd use for mowing the lawn) most of the time for precisely this reason. I've found my anxiety levels are much lower after several hours of wearing them.
- yowlingcat 6y agoEven before lockdowns, I found that my sanity levels went up significantly once I started moving to using Etymotic in-ear monitors. I used a fairly cheap pair for commuting and work [1]. The nice thing about them is that even if you don't have any music playing, they're effectively earplugs. And then if you do have music playing, you don't have to turn it up very loud to hear it well, so it's kinda a win win all around. [1] https://www.etymotic.com/consumer/earphones/mk5.html https://www.etymotic.com/consumer/earphones/mk5.html