WHAT TO DO WHEN NOISE ANNOYS YOU
There’s nothing like a car alarm at 2am to drive a person to distraction. Night is the time when we’re most disturbed by sirens, creaking floorboards or noisy neighbours. But what is it about noise that creates such a problem for sleep?
“Before we drift o#, the nervous system needs to settle – we need to assure our brains that we are in a safe place,” explains sleep expert Dr Nerina Ramlakhan. “Jarring noise, particularly intermittent noise that varies in volume and pitch, puts the nervous system on red alert, which will wake you up and prevent you going back to sleep.”
The noise tells your body that you’re not safe. Your heart rate increases, your nerves feel jangly, your stress level shoots through the roof. This makes sense to our ancient brains!– that extra blood "ow and the
