Find Out How Noise Affects The Mood
Noise affects mood, based on what science has established, especially in recent years. First, we should note that excessive noise produces deafness and this problem causes a whole host of additional psychological problems.
Second, noise in itself constitutes an aggressive stimulus for the brain. Sounds such as bells, horns, sirens and the like cause the alarm bells in the body to ring. The result is increased stress, which is one of the primary ways in which noise affects mood.
In addition to this, excessive sounds overstimulate the brain. Noise is almost always present during the daily activities. This causes one’s brain to focus on many aspects at the same time and it affects cognitive performance. This is another way in which noise affects mood.
How noise affects mood
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), noise levels should not exceed 65 decibels. It has a negative impact on people’s social behavior when they exceed this level. More specifically, this increases anxiety, irritability and the feeling of helplessness.
Likewise, according to available data, seven out of ten people confirm that noise does not allow them to concentrate. Noise affects the ability to concentrate and in the long run it can even lead to problems with learning and memory. Most people also feel in a bad mood when there is a lot of noise in the environment.
Another way in which noise affects mood is during rest. People need a quiet environment to be able to fall asleep. If there are noises in the environment, insomnia manifests itself very often or the rest is disturbed. This has several psychological and physical consequences.
Sound architecture
Sound architecture is related to the way noise affects the mood. Science has established that the acoustic properties of a home, a building or any construction directly affect a person’s emotions. That’s what audio architecture is all about.
Experts in the field point out that the way a building is made determines its acoustic properties. And these qualities directly affect people’s mood. Sound architecture is related to the design of a place and the materials it is built with.
One of the students in this subject is Trevor Cox, an acoustic engineer at the University of Salford in Manchester. He points out that buildings such as the Hagia Sophia in Turkey have such an acoustic aesthetic that when you step into it, you experience a sense of peace and spirituality.
A study around it revealed that briefly listening to a 110 Hz tone reduces activity in speech centers and transfers activity to areas of the brain associated with abstraction and creativity.
Music and mood
The impact of sounds is so significant that in fact there is already a whole area dedicated to music-based study and therapy. In that sense, a study conducted by the University of Bari (Italy) and the University of Helsinki (Finland) indicated that music alters the biochemistry of emotions.
The study, published in the journal Nature, indicates that changes in dopamine receptors were observed with musical simulus. This study is the first approach seeking non-pharmacological treatments for mood disorders.
Treatments with music are actually being used in patients with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, which has given good results. Therefore, if music has all that power, it is clear that noise also affects the mood the other way around.
Contraception and recommendations based on how noise affects mood
Large cities have problems with noise pollution. The ideal is thus that everyone should dedicate themselves to reducing the noise levels in their daily lives. Voluntary actions, such as not pushing, if not necessary, avoiding loud music or refraining from speaking in a very loud tone, can really help.
It is also important that people use hearing protection when they are in noisy environments where the noise is impossible to control. Likewise, it is important to regularly seek places of silence.
