Contents
Tired of the sleepless nights? Seen 3:00 AM all too frequently recently? Maybe you’re just destined to be an insomniac, or maybe it’s the new neighbors that have moved in across the hall making all the racket! Whatever the reason, one thing we can all appreciate is that lack of sleep is good for no-one. You may have tried medication or prefer to go down the meditation route instead.
Did you consider though that there might be some simple hacks you can introduce that will help to block out the noise when trying to sleep? Ok, so they’re not going to help you drift into a blissful slumber if the cause of your sleep deprivation is financial family or health concerns.
However, assuming you’re just a sensitive sleeper and noise is your biggest foe, let’s take a look at some of the best things you can be doing to help block out that unwanted extraneous noise when you are trying to nod off!
How does the saying go? If you can’t stop the noise, then try blocking the noise!
If the route cause is those noisy, inconsiderate neighbors or perhaps your partner’s incessant, and yes, incredibly annoying snoring, then there might not seem like a whole lot you can easily do.
Neither of them can be replaced any time soon, and if you are tempted to put a pillow of your partner’s face to stop the snoring, you might end up never sleeping again! Not in your own bed at least.
Replace the unpleasant sound with something more tolerable
What you could consider doing instead is masking the sounds that bother you with some that you find altogether more relaxing and sleep-inducing. Rather than getting yourself even more agitated about how you are possibly ever going to get your troublesome neighbors evicted, focus your attention instead on minimizing the impact that noise has on you directly. There are three top suggestions that we have in that respect.
1. Pick up a pair of cheap and friendly earplugs.
2. Invest in a white noise machine that will block out the background noise and replace it with something more rhythmic and soothing.
3. Buy yourself a pair of noise-canceling headphones.
Options 1 and 3 involve you physically wearing something in your ears which might not be to everyone’s liking. Option 2, however, just requires you to plug in a little device that you can set the tone and volume (and in many instances the session length, too) that should help you drift off into a deeper and more peaceful sleep.
It achieves this by focusing your attention on the soft hum in the room rather than the family across the way squabbling, the dog repeatedly barking at every little sound and movement outside or yes, that partner snoring like there’s no tomorrow!
You could also try soundproofing your home
If the sounds are coming from outside, it might be time to look at your soundproofing. Sound has an uncanny knack and ability to travel through the smallest of gaps, and sound waves can easily be transmitted through solid walls.
Granted, it’s going to take some time, money, effort, and patience to soundproof your home fully and you probably don’t want to start sticking eggboxes all over the walls like you are in some kind of DJ recording studio. However, there are some elementary steps to soundproofing your home that you can undertake quite effectively.
Check that your window frames, door frames, floorboards and skirting boards are all well sealed. Not only will you reduce sound interference but you will also make your home more energy efficient by sealing in more heat and warmth too.
Talking of which, simple adjustments like hanging heavier drapes and curtains at your windows will also help on both these scores, soaking up the sound and trapping in heat. Blackout blinds are also a great option.
These have additional soundproofing built in but also, if you are a sensitive and light sleeper, the darker as well as quieter your bedroom environment is, the more likely you are to have a more restful and deeper night of uninterrupted sleep.
Following that same vein, solid wood flooring or polished concrete might look great, but carpets are where it’s at when it comes to soaking up the sound, especially in any rooms that are directly above where you sleep. It might sound like you have bigfoot living upstairs when in reality it’s just your two-year old, tearing around the roomin the morning!
Put a divide between you and a noisy adjoining neighbor
Another great idea is to put a cupboard, wardrobe or a bookcase in between you and a neighbor’s apartment. This is an excellent way of creating some extra soundproofing especially where there is a solid mass of wall that links you to someone else’s home.
Whatever you do, don’t be tempted to start a sound war!
There is a lot still to be said for the art of diplomacy and having an honest conversation. If you can, try asking politely for the music or television volume to be reduced. If you decide just to blast back, it’s a no-win situation, and neither of the households are likely to be getting any quality sleep any time soon.
In the event that you are still unsuccessful, then the noise pollution department exists to help with precisely these kind of crises, but if it were us, we’d probably try a white noise machine out first before we got into an all-out feud.
Mind over matter
We mentioned meditation, and by extension we also mean relaxation. Try not to get yourself too anxious about the root cause of the noise; otherwise, it really does become a vicious circle that you become desperate to escape.
A good sound machine doesn’t just block out noise enabling you to drift off more easily, it can also very much help to reduce your stress levels by putting you into a more relaxed, tranquil and trance-like state.
There aren’t many people who can resist the gentle sound of waves lapping against a distant tropical shore. Sweet dreams are made of these!