Urban Noise Pollution: Effects on Mental Health and Well-Being

Life in a city has both pros and cons, it provides efficiency as well as negatively impacts on mental health of people. On the one hand, it offers plenty of job opportunities, loaded with entertainment, and lots to explore. On the other hand, pollution, excessive population, construction, industries, etc. When talking about pollution, and noise pollution, urban have the most noise pollution compared to rural. Noise is classified as a pollutant under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1981 and is described as an undesirable sound. It includes intrusive, irritating, distracting, or continuous sounds.

According to WHO guidelines, noise levels should be kept below 30 A-weighted decibels (dB[A]) in bedrooms at night to ensure quality sleep and 35 dB(A) in classrooms to maintain conducive learning and teaching environments. Noise is often overlooked as a threat, but it can lead to various health issues from physical to mental health and negatively impact the overall well-being of an individual. In this article, we will discuss how urban noise pollution impacts the mental health and well-being of people.

The Impact of Urban Noise Pollution on mental health and well-being

1. Sleep Disturbances

As we already discussed, according to WHO guidelines, noise level should be less than 30 A dB in bedrooms for quality of sleep. If the noise goes beyond 65dB it considers noise pollution. We know that urban have noise pollution, consider the decibel difference between quality sleep and noise pollution that urban have approximately. The sleep pattern might be disturbed. If the sleep is continuously disturbed, it might cause severe physical and mental health problems. It could lead to insomnia (sleeping disorder). If sleep is disturbed, one cannot perform well for the whole day, which will affect productivity, efficiency, and so on.

2. Increased Stress

Continuous noise exposure might cause disturbances in the body’s stress level. Even the noise at the lower level, and constant exposure makes it difficult to tolerate. Imagine, sitting in a classroom, constant sound from the computer or ups irritates you to the core, and you can’t even focus on the topics. Chronic noise or constant noise can elevate the level of cortisol, the stress hormone. As we already discussed, sleep disturbances also increase the stress. If it is prolonged for a long time, it might cause problems in mental health and also affect overall well-being.

3. Anxiety And Depression

Continuous exposure to noise pollution contributes to increased stress, if stress is prolonged for a long time, it might contribute to anxiety and depression. Constant sound overstimulates the nervous system, leading to discomfort. Some people might be oversensitive or abnormally sensitive to sounds, this phenomenon is called hyperacusis, and life is not easy for this kind of people in urban. Noise pollution can act as an excessive stressor for them. For people who suffer from anxiety and depression, this noise pollution might add to their suffering.

4. Affects Certain Groups of People

Some populations like children, elderly people, patients, and people with mental health problems are more vulnerable to urban noise pollution. Children’s brains are still in growth, they are more vulnerable to this excessive continuous noise and they are learning about the environment and adapting to it this noise pollution might affect their brain growth. Elderly people might have several health conditions and severe cardiac conditions, and noise pollution might negative impact on them. People with mental health problems need a peaceful environment where less noise and where they can handle their emotions and focus on the present, instead concerning about the past and future.

5. Cognitive Problems

Noise pollution might cause some cognitive problems, like cognitive decline. Prolonged noise exposure can disrupt the central nervous system and brain, raising the risk of heart disease, stroke, dementia, and cognitive decline. Constant noises might divide our attention. It might be challenging to concentrate. Noise can impact both short-term memory and long-term memory. And also challenging to recall when there were extreme noises. Urban noise pollution makes complex thinking, reasoning, problem-solving, and decision-making more difficult. As we already discussed, urban noise pollution, delayed the cognitive activity in the children. And also causes cognitive fatigue.

6. Decreased Quality of Time

Continuous exposure to urban noise pollution might affect the quality of time that we spend with our important people. We might not be able to get the time we spend in peace, finding people to enjoy, and spending fun time with friends, when there is extreme urban noise. This might lead to frustration, dissatisfaction, and a decreased sense of well-being. Noise pollution can impair communications and also be a barrier to good social connections. Quality of time with ourselves is also necessary for well-being where noise is the disturbances for private times or privacy.

7. Physical Health

Continuous noise pollution is linked to hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. Noise pollution affects the sleep pattern. If our sleep pattern gets disturbed it could cause high blood pressure, high-risk of heart risks, stroke risks, daytime sleep, changes in hormones, reduced growth hormone, leads to weight gain, muscle weakness, gastrointestinal issues, headaches and migraines. Patients in urban areas suffer a lot, they can’t better their health with this pollution.

Reduced REM sleep, might be the result of urban noise pollution, REM sleep is critical for cognitive functioning, emotional regulation, and physical restoration. Hearing damage is one of the important impacts of urban noise pollution such as building construction, traffic, or industrial sounds this can lead to eventually, noise-induced hearing loss.

8. Reduced Emotional Resilience

Constant noise exposure reduces emotional resilience, this can negatively affect the mental health of people. It makes it more difficult for individuals who trying to cope with the bad situation. It acts as a trigger for negative emotions. In urban areas, there is less chance to find peace without any noise. Extreme irritating sounds are negatively connected with emotional responses.

Some strategies to maintain our Mental Health and well-being in Urban Noise Pollution

1. Practice Meditation: Mediation also gives you peace and relaxation by holding your breath for some time and releasing it. Use online apps to guide you through the process. Both mindfulness and meditation require a noise-free environment but it is difficult to find a place like that, you can use noise-free headphones.
2. Soundproof Rooms: Soundproofing your room to avoid exterior noises is one of the strategies to avoid external noise pollution. Soundproofing the whole house might be a little expensive, but you can soundproof a room to practice mindfulness and meditation. A single room is enough to have a peaceful time.
3. Practice Progression Muscle Relaxation Techniques: Practicing progression muscle relaxation techniques involves tensing some part of the body holding it for sometimes and relaxing it slowly. This could help to relax after dealing with a world full of noise.
4. Practice Mindfulness: By practising mindfulness, you can avoid distraction and focus on the present, it is helpful to reduce stress and anxiety caused by noise. It is helpful to maintain a peaceful mind while the outer world is more noisy.
5. Spend Time With Nature: Spending time with nature could be relaxing for us. Urban is filled with noises, constructions, technologies, industries and so on. Spending some time with greeneries might give you the feeling of being refreshed.
6. Vacation Plan: Spending holidays in any place other than urban, a place where you can find some peace and away from the urban noises. This could be relaxing and varied from daily exposure. And might bring you peace.
7. Set A Correct Sleep Routine: Sleep routine is important to maintain mental health and physical health. Going to bed and waking up from bed at the same time every day, making easier to fall asleep.
8. Limit Caffeine And Screen Time: Limit the usage of caffeine or using screens close to bedtimes to have a good sleep, because both disturb your sleep pattern.

In conclusion, urban can provide you with plenty of opportunities, jobs, enjoyment, and wealth. On the other hand, it also has pollution, especially noise pollution. The impact of urban noise pollution on mental health and well-being includes sleep disturbances, increased stress, depression, and anxiety, cognitive problems, reduced emotional resilience, decreased quality of time, and impairment in physical health. We can’t avoid the efficiency we get from urban lives, but we have to maintain our mental health and well-being. So, we need to practice some strategies like mindfulness, meditation, and progressive muscle relaxation techniques to maintain a healthy mental state and well-being.

FAQs:

What is noise pollution?

• Noise pollution refers to excessive or harmful levels of noise in the environment, typically from urban sources such as traffic, construction, industrial activities, and public spaces.

How does noise pollution affect mental health?

• Prolonged exposure to urban noise pollution can lead to stress, anxiety, irritability, and sleep disturbances, which in turn can contribute to depression, cognitive impairment, and other mental health issues.

What are the long-term effects of noise pollution on well-being?

• Chronic noise pollution can increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, and mental health disorders like chronic stress, depression, and anxiety.

Can noise pollution impact sleep?

• Yes, constant exposure to loud noise, especially at night, can interfere with sleep patterns, leading to insomnia or poor-quality sleep. Sleep deprivation can further contribute to cognitive problems and emotional instability.