Home and Garden
6 Tips For Blocking Out Noise When Trying To Sleep
by Jane Collin
Whether it is a noisy neighbor, thin walls or you live next to a busy street noise will prevent you from enjoying the vital rest that your body needs and so you have to do something about it. Lack of adequate sleep will increase the likelihood of getting everything from heart diseases to diabetes and so you should never let noise affect your quality sleep. The good thing is that there is always something that you can do and so you just need to act. Below are some easy but very helpful tips for blocking out noise when trying to sleep that you can use to ensure that noise does not affect your sleep.
#1 Rearrange the Furniture in your Bedroom
Sometimes moving around or rearranging the furniture in your room is all you need to keep the noise out. Placing something like a wardrobe on the thin wall that you share with a noisy neighbor will absorb most of the noise and sometimes even eliminate all of it. Moving your bed as far away as possible from the wall that is bringing in the noise is also a good idea because it means that you will hear less of it. Having various furniture items in the bedroom is also helpful because there will be more things to absorb the noise.
#2 Use Earplugs
Earplugs are what most people will turn to when they want to sleep in noisy environments, and this is because they are always effective in blocking out the noise. But you also need to buy a good pair, and for this to be so, you should go for something with an excellent rating because this is what indicates the amount of noise that they can block out. Also, the right idea is to go for those that use advanced technologies that will allow you to hear things like a baby crying or when someone is talking to you.
#3 Noise Cancelling Headphones are also Very Useful
Noise canceling headphones for sleeping are another excellent option, and if you find a good pair, you will never have to agonize about noise again. Modern noise canceling headphones come with a small microphone that identifies ambient noise from things like traffic and then produces a noise-cancelling wave that eliminates the noise. There are many types of these headphones available in the market, but you should always make sure that whatever you choose is comfortable enough for wearing all night long as you sleep.
#4 Try White Noise
Producing more noise might seem like an odd way of dealing with noise when trying to sleep, but white noise is very useful. Its usefulness comes from the fact that it makes it hard for you to hear the distracting sound that might prevent you from sleeping. White noise is any sound type that is constant and without any recognizable tempo or variance. You can get these white sounds by installing an app on your phone or even from things that you already possess in the house such as the air conditioner or a fan.
#5 Soundproof Windows and Doors
Tiny gaps in your windows or doors are some of the main places where noise from outside finds its way into your bedroom. The first thing when dealing with noise is to make sure that the doors and windows do not leave any gaps during installation. However, in most instances, it is impossible to avoid leaving these tiny spaces, and so you will need to come up with ways to cover them up. You can use things like blankets and towels to cover the gaps, but this is only a temporary measure. For something permanent, you should buy insulating foam or install double-paned windows.
#6 Insulate your Floor
Noises coming from below your house if you live in an apartment are also easy to deal with because you only need to cover your floor with thick rugs and carpets. Insulation makes the layer between the noise and floor thick and hence ensuring that little of it gets into your bedroom. And if you own the apartment you can go with permanent methods of floor insulation such as insulating the baseboards with things like fiberglass or by installing special floor tiles.
Very few people can sleep in a noisy environment, and even those that manage to do it will get inferior quality sleep that will not benefit the body. And so if you live in a noisy environment you should take steps to deal with the noise, and for this, the six tips above will come in handy.
About the Author
Jane Collins is a blogger at g9sleeptight.com, a blog dedicated to providing tips and solutions to help you have a good night’s sleep. Follow Jane on Twitter: @g9sleeptight
