Common perception vs. academic research on noise stress
Noise pollution is one of the most underrated pollutants in our lives. We might love karaoke, or concerts, disco, and so on. Of course, we all have our earplugs, we listen to music when commuting, or basically almost every time we are by ourselves.
Because earplugs or loud public transportation/traffic is so common in our daily lives, noise stress can be an invisible danger for our health.
In fact, research shows that noise stress can lead to physical and mental impairments, including chronic sleep disturbance, cardiovascular disease, or even premature deaths.
In a heavily technological world, we will have to learn how to navigate a noise-stressing society. What we need is:
- to mitigate "invisible noise stress" voluntarily as much as possible (individually)
- to eliminate unnecessary noise pollutants in public sphere (collectively)
- to identify individual and collective issues and devising their solutions accordingly.
written by Ken.
Links consulted
・How does environmental noise pollution impact my health? (2023, July 10). European Environment Agency’s Home Page. https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/about/contact-us/faqs/how-does-environmental-noise-pollution-impact-my-health#:~:text=The%20EEA%20estimates%20that%20environmental,people%20suffer%20chronic%20sleep%20disturbance
・Millar, H. (2020, December 22). What are the health effects of noise pollution? https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/noise-pollution-health-effects#physical-health.
Comments