Living in a metropolis, we do not notice how noise affects our health. Citizens don’t even have time to think about it, because thoughts about endless lists of must do are running through my head. And only when it’s time to go on vacation, we feel noticeable fatigue and try to go to a quiet and peaceful place as soon as possible.
Scientists became interested in the effects of noise on our body in the middle of the twentieth century. Then they noticed the connection between the high blood pressure of their patients and their lives near high-profile urban facilities such as airports or highways. More recent research has shown that noise is to blame for our insomnia, stress, heart disease and hearing problems. Scientists have even given this phenomenon the name – noise pollution.
According to the World Health Organization, 750 million people in Western Europe lose three million years of healthy life each year due to excessive noise. Every ninth inhabitant of the planet has hearing problems and about half of them can lose their hearing forever.
Matthias Basner, an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania, offers several ways to get life back on track:
let me know if it is too noisy;
study sound impenetrability when choosing housing;
talk seriously with children about the dangers of excessive noise;
choose quiet places for rest;
use noise-canceling headphones.
But silence, on the contrary, heals us. Research shows that a silent environment helps mice produce new brain cells, which probably points to promising directions in the search for remedies for depression. In turn, psychologists advise to immerse yourself in silence for relaxing practices. After all, the absence of sounds soothes, adjusts to the connection with yourself and the world around you.
