2023-04-18 03:21:00
“Today’s society is so noisy that silence has made us uncomfortable”
Lecina Fernandez
Psychologist
In the house of Pablo Barrios (Madrid, 35 years old) a rumor is heard “as if similar to that of the sea with a lot of waves.” However, the young man does not reside on the coast. He lives on the first line, but on the road, a seventh floor in the Madrid neighborhood of La Elipa with views of the M-30 ring road: “I invested in good windows and, when they are closed, I manage to make the traffic noise become a residual noise to which I have become accustomed. But it is unbearable if I open them,” says Barrios, who purchased this home in 2020.
As the psychologist Lecina Fernández explains, the sound environment, especially that of the home, directly affects our well-being: “It does so whether it is a pleasant sound or a silent environment that favors relaxation or concentration, or if it is a noise that it irritates and disturbs”, he points out.
ARE SPANISH HOMES NOISY?
According to the study Households with psychologyprepared by IKEA and the General Council of Psychology of Spain:
- 1 in 4 people Do you think that your house is not silent?
- In 75.7% of the cases It’s because of the noise that the neighbors make
- In 42.7% it’s because of the traffic
- In 16.1% it is for the cohabitants themselves
A balanced sound environment, in which there are no disturbing noises, is one of the main reasons for satisfaction with our home, according to the study Homes with psychology, prepared by IKEA and the General Council of Psychology of Spain. In addition, it has been observed that exposure to noise levels above 60 decibels (dB) increases the signs of stress in the body, causing cardiovascular and gastrointestinal problems, as pointed out, among other institutions, by the World Health Organization ( WHO).
How we relate to sounds
José Luis González Cespón is a specialist in applied acoustics, a branch of engineering that measures the impact of the sound environment on people. The expert clarifies that not everyone has the same auditory configuration: “The physiology of the ear is different in each person, causing us to perceive sound more or less intensely and, therefore, making us more susceptible,” adds González. , who is also a professor at the University of Vigo.
The auditory configuration brings with it a subjective reaction to sound, but the context also influences, both the space and what we are doing. To explain it, González gives the concept of noise as an example: “It not only has to do with the intensity at which we perceive the sound [técnicamente, se considera ruido a los sonidos por encima de los 65 dB por el día y 55 dB por la noche, según la OMS]. The way of understanding noise varies depending on the person and the degree of discomfort that it is causing them, ”she clarifies. “If that sound prevents us from doing an activity like working or sleeping, we consider it noise. On the other hand, if the same sound helps us to concentrate or relax, we don’t call it that”.
What do our homes sound like? and how it affects us
The sounds in each home are different, but they have similarities in the way they affect our well-being, as explained by the experts consulted for this report.
Turn on the audio for the full experience
ACCOMPANYING SOUNDS
There are homes in which the television or radio are practically on all day.
It may be because the person is used to the social turmoil and is uncomfortable with the absence of sound. Or, in other cases, it is a resource to feel accompanied.
Music is another sound that accompanies us at home and that we choose according to tastes, mood or activity.
THAT DISTRACT AND DISTURB
Intermittent sounds, such as mobile phone notifications, construction work on the street, or horns, distract from concentration and cause irritability.
At night, they interrupt sleep and prevent the brain from reaching the deepest stage where the most restful rest occurs.
THAT DESPERATE
Slurping soup, the click of a pen, a continuous clearing of the throat, the pendulum of a clock…
People who can’t stand this type of repetitive and foreign sounds suffer from misophonia, a neuropsychological disorder of selective sensitivity to sound.
Its origin is unknown and it can cause anxiety, muscle tension, headache and even dizziness.
WHAT ARE NORMALIZED
The brain can become accustomed to constant sounds, such as that of a road.
Some of them, like a fan or the radio when you can’t tune in a station, can even create a feeling of calm.
THE ABSENCE OF SOUND (SILENCE)
Silence allows us to focus attention on oneself and on the environment, which generates tranquility and improves the ability to concentrate.
But it can be negative, for example, in cases of unwanted loneliness.
Following
The psychologist Lecina Fernández highlights one more factor in the subjective interpretation of sound: mood. “We can be more susceptible to certain sounds if we don’t feel well. Although other times it is the sounds themselves that determine how we feel; For example, the noise of a construction site in the street is normal for it to irritate us and for us to end up in a bad mood, ”she specifies.
Why does silence bother us?
Society has become noisier; so much so that it has made us uncomfortable with silence. This is how Fernández considers it: “We live surrounded by sound: television, radio, traffic, the noise of people on the street, mobile phones, social networks… They are constant sound stimuli that cause stress”, he points out. “This makes it difficult for us to practice silence, which has nothing to do so much with the absence of sound, but rather with the ability to pay attention to ourselves.”
Practicing silence is a guarantee to achieve mental well-being and depends on our predisposition and capacity for abstraction: “Some people have an easier time relaxing and forgetting regarding their surroundings, like those people who are reading on the subway, for example. On the other hand, we associate calm with a state of stillness, but there are also people who relax and practice silence while moving, exercising”, Fernández gives as an example.
“At night, we are more susceptible to hearing because the background noise of the city disappears and makes us perceive any sound more clearly”
José Luis González Cespon
Specialist in Applied Acoustics and
professor at the University of Vigo
Faced with the social maelstrom, the psychologist invites us to practice silence from a young age. “If we don’t have practice or we have lost it, we can learn it by acquiring habits of pausing and disconnecting from that frenzy. It helps a lot to create spaces that are conducive to it,” says Fernández. “At home, we can look for corners with little furniture and decoration to avoid new stimuli and distractions, places that we know that, in them, we are not exposed to noise both inside the house and outside.”
Hearing sharpens at night
Since he moved into his home in the La Elipa neighborhood, Pablo Barrios has feared the arrival of summer, the season in which he most notices the noise of the traffic to which his home and his life are subjected: “I sleep with the fan on all the night, I dare not open the windows because, if not, I won’t sleep a wink”, he admits.
Road traffic is one of the most common sources of noise in cities. Although each town hall has its own ordinance on this matter, the WHO recommends limiting levels to 53 dB during the day and 45 dB at night. Noise interrupts sleep and seriously impairs rest, as pointed out by the Spanish Sleep Society. This physiological alteration can also generate other health problems, such as cardiovascular diseases, and mental disorders, such as depression or anxiety.
In addition, at night, we are more susceptible to hearing, as Professor José Luis González explains, because the background noise of the city tends to disappear and makes us perceive any sound more clearly: “Biologically, we are prepared to sleep at night and, to For this, we need calm and silence. When it’s dark, our brain expects it and alerts more easily to any sound, ”he clarifies.
The acoustic preparation of the house
David Pérez knows well what outside noise can disturb. He is an engineer at Decibel, an acoustic architecture studio that provides its services in Madrid and is often called by users with all kinds of noise complaints: “The ones we receive the most are usually from very noisy premises or smoke extraction systems outside. . Other times, it is the refrigeration or heating machinery of the buildings themselves, located on a roof or in a room, the ones that cause inconvenience to the neighbors”, he explains.
“The acoustic preparation of a house or premises has two formulas: the conditioning for the absorption of sound from inside and protect others, and isolation as a barrier for those who come from outside”
David Perez
Acoustic engineer at Decibel studio
As Pérez points out, before these calls, a sound measurement is carried out and it is verified if it is exceeding the established limits – in Madrid, for example, it would be 35 dB during the day and 30 at night for any room, and 30 and 25 dB, respectively. , for bedrooms–. If so, the owner of the home, premises or building has to condition the space, through solutions that allow sound absorption if he cannot modify his activity and reduce the levels: “This is one of the two formulas that exist to the acoustic preparation of the house or premises. The other is insulation as a barrier to sound that comes from outside”, clarifies the Decibel engineer.
According to the Technical Building Code – in force in Spain since 2006 – the sound between homes must be limited to 30 dB. As Pérez explains, this is achieved through an insulation system in the structure of the building. However, this only applies to post-standard buildings.
If the house is from before, little can be done, as Pérez points out, “because the modification of the façade and the partitions is a more difficult job when the building is already being built. In addition, the noise also enters through the ceiling and the floor”. In these cases, it remains to be entrusted to the civility of the neighbors or resort to little interior design tricks, as pointed out by Icíar García, head of the IKEA Retail Solutions department. For example, thick curtains or rugs can act as a barrier to outside noise that enters through windows or through the floor. And other elements that absorb sound, such as cork, are a good and decorative resource for walls and cabinets.
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