| | My Woman's Day magazine came in the mail yesterday and touted a "Big Secret to Less Stress" on the cover. I flipped over to it, since when I DO get stressed, I'm not a good person to be around. I'm not constantly stressed, especially since I'm no longer working for an EXTREME type-A personality at the bookstore(s). The magazine article was entitled "quiet, please!" For a moment I thought I was on the wrong page, but it actually talks about how noise pollution can cause stress, even when you're not consciously aware of the noise. This is actually a trigger I knew. I cannot stand noise. I'm one of those people who almost never has the TV or radio on "for company." My husband noticed it when we were dating (remember, this was long-distance, so mostly phone conversations). I don't know how conscious he was, except one day I was listening to a CD on my computer when he called and said, "There's music in the background!" "ummm yeah?" "I never hear music over the phone with you." I hadn't really thought about it, but most times when he'd call, I'd turn off whatever noise-creating items I could so that I only had him and overseas phone static to concentrate on. Sometimes there was nothing to turn off, because I just unconsciously turn off what noise I can. My laundry room is in the basement, and I often wait until I'm ready to leave the room before I start the dryer, even if I stay for a few minutes to fold something or sort the next loads. I turn off the TV if anyone leaves it unattended, unless they actually announce "I'm going to the bathroom!" I don't always have the radio on in the car, although I seem to listen to it more than I used to. Maybe the reception's better in this car? If I were to jog, I bet I'd rarely wear headphones, and then only to muffle the noise pollution I have to run past.
Back to the article. It mentions many of the household noisemakers I'm already aware of and automatically limit: dishwasher (I don't have one currently), laundry machines, hair dryer, vacuum, air conditioners. Outside the home, you'll get your own car radio, Muzak, TV's in stores and restaurants, and the ever-loud boom box at the gym. She suggests that you ask your waitress to turn down or seat you away from TV's, and has asked her dentist to turn off the radio during a dental visit. Apparently the noise of the drill was enough for her! She doesn't say we should all live in complete silence all the time, but that the noise entering our skulls can be a conscious choice many times. Limiting your exposure to unnecessary noise can actually decrease your stress level.
The sidebar mentions a few ways that noise hurts. Concentration (oh yeah), our waistlines, hearing loss (we've all heard this one beaten to death, but do we pay attention?) and a few other physical effects such as an increased risk of heart attack and sleep disturbances. I know that noise disrupts my concentration immensely. I loved when my cashier left for lunch at the bookstore. She usually went right after a high-traffic time in our building, and I would turn off her TV (gee, was she spoiled?). The contrast immediately took my mind down two steps on the distraction meter. When my boys were born, I was working in a grocery store. There is a LOT of noise in a grocery store. Friends chatting, babies crying, shopping carts clacking, items falling and hitting the floor, and let's not forget the BEEP! and grind of the cash registers. Even the laser scanners have a hum. You may have never noticed them over the Muzak blaring. Nate -couldn't- sleep in quiet for the first 2 months of his life. I lived with my grandmother for a while, and she would always say "shhh, he's asleep" and carefully move him to the back room so we could continue our conversation, wash the dishes, watch TV ... He would wake up within 5 minutes. Finally, we left his bassinet in the middle of the kitchen table while we made as much noise as we wanted. He slept like, well like a baby. He adjusted, but he still doesn't like things as quiet as I do. He's always humming, tapping, shuffling his feet, riffling the pages of a book...
I'll leave you with a quote from the sidebar: 'After women are exposed to frustrating noise levels they are more likely to eat high-carb snacks, a 2004 study published in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology showed. Researchers found that noise reduces persistence in problem-solving tasks, increasing frustration and, in turn, leading to stress-releasing noshing. "Results suggest that women exposed to a week of job stress could be especially vulnerable to overeating on the weekends," says study leader Laura Cousino Klein, Ph.D., an associate professor of biobehavioral health at Penn State.'
I see a few visits to the library in my future. It might be nice to have the sound of "Shhh! Quiet, please" for a change.
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| | Posted 2/7/2007 8:18 AM - 1 view - 2 comments
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