Something interesting:
In the Iliad and Ancient Greek mythology, even the gods sleep.
Sleep is described with all these blessed words. Even the battle-weary soldiers have the blessing of sleep.
So why is it in our strange modern times we see sleep as something undesirable, and a sign of the weak? Shouldn’t sleep be seen as one of the most godlike summits?
My sleep hacks
I did something unwise when selecting my current apartment —
When touring the apartment, I suspected the street noise in the bedrooms were too loud, but I thought the other features and “amenities” of the apartment were good enough (location, in-home private car garage, 2 bedroom 2 bath).
But as a consequence, my overall well-being has suffered, as a result of poor sleep resulting from the high street noise at night. The problem:
Street noise, cars with loud exhausts, or even 18-wheelers or big trucks — they cause the floor to vibrate, the walls to vibrate, and my body to vibrate!
This means it isn’t just the loud noises which keep me up at night and prevent me from sleeping deeply … it is also the vibrations from the cars outside (I live on a major/high-traffic street) which cause me to “micro-wake” in the middle of the night.
Necessity and desperation is the mother of innovation
Thus I tried everything. A great hack I discovered:
Sleep with an eye mask on, and earplugs on, *and* noise-canceling headphones on (Bose QC 35 Mark II) on the noise-cancelling setting on, without music on.
I found the first layer (just earplugs) wasn’t enough. By adding the over-ear Bose noise cancelling headphones on, I had additional sound muffling (the ear cups offer even more passive noise cutting out). But the kicker — having the noise cancellation feature on reduces the ambient outside street noise and traffic and rumblings.
Towards a more physiologically superior lifestyle
I’ve found that I love natural light in a home. My ideal home would have massive floor-to-ceiling windows, would face a beautiful downtown city or nature, and would be facing the direction which allows the light to directly enter my home. But alas, this isn’t always possible.
My lesson to myself:
If I have the choice between a home with no natural light, but is insanely quiet or the choice of a home with tons of natural light but extreme noise, I’ll choose and prioritize quiet over light.
Because if I want more light, I can just go outside. Walk and bask in the sun, or spend more time outdoors. Or just purchase more LED light bulbs (highest lumens possible) to augment the lighting at home. But unfortunately, there isn’t really much you can do to “de-noise” a loud home.