Sleeping in noisy surroundings

[Deleted]

There was an interesting item on the news tonight about those strange people who can fall asleep in noisy places with absolutely no trouble at all. It was even more interesting to me, because I am one of those people. On an airplane, for example, I will fall asleep even faster if I keep the headphones on through an action movie with lots of explosions, shooting and shouting.

Anyway, it turns out that it is a sort of genetic anomaly through with such people completely filter out the noise and can sleep on a park bench surrounded by shrieking children.

Unfortunately, we are not superior beings, because our sleep is still of shitty quality. The ear also sends messages to the heart, and noise makes it speed up in case of potential danger. So even if the brain is asleep, the body is tense and the sleep does little good.

Well, I will still console myself with the thought that it makes plane trips and certain other situations less boring, because it blanks out 2 or 3 hour sections of useless time.

[lagatta]

I'm still jealous. Can never sleep on planes, or if there is a lot of noise. I do think there is a level of traffic noise city-dwellers do get used to though. Idem the Latin-American families who let their children play late into the evening on the pavements. But there is a block of scuzzy studios people call "the crackhouse" (la piquerie) where there are always fights breaking out, and that wakes me up - think that is a fear reaction, though I'm at no risk where I live.

I wonder how long that place will remain as is, as the neighbourhood is changing very rapidly.

[bjd]

I guess my genetic anomalies don't extend to sleeping with noise either. This past weekend in Paris, I slept one night in a room on a fairly busy street with the window open because of the heat and I had the impression that I woke up every time a motorcycle went by.

In planes, it's not the noise that is a problem. It's that I can't get comfortable.

[Deleted]

Aug 27, 2010 15:54:07 GMT bjd said:

This past weekend in Paris, I slept one night in a room on a fairly busy street with the window open because of the heat and I had the impression that I woke up every time a motorcycle went by.

Actually, when I first moved to my current apartment and didn't have double glazed windows yet, for the first week I would wake up feeling like I was lying in the middle of the street with trucks passing on both sides (I live on an extremely busy street.).

What I can't figure out is why, when I wake up in the middle of the night for whatever reason, if I hit the sleep button on my clock radio, which makes the radio play for 59 minutes, I will be asleep within 3 minutes no matter what. Sometimes, say at 2:55 a.m., I will say to myself, "oh I'll hear the news flash in 5 minutes" -- well, I never make it to the news no matter how hard I try.

[gertie]

I can fall asleep and sleep through anything, and arise feeling relaxed and refreshed. Except television. I have an awful time falling asleep with one on in the room with me, usually can not fall asleep at all. If by some chance I do fall asleep I always wake up when some loud commercial comes on. Of course they will swear commercials are not allowed to be louder. I think they simply edge round that provision by making commercials of what are obviously loud goings on. I mean, obviously even if the commercial is at the same level, if a commercial is all shouting vs the average show which is not, it will still be louder.

[bixaorellana]

Kerouac, I think the reason you can go back to sleep by hitting that button on the clock is because you're officially not trying to go back to sleep.

I read myself to sleep every night for the same reason. Reading is my way of saying, "look -- not trying to sleep!", which allows me to fall asleep.

[betsie]

I'm one of those poor people who are extremely sensitive to noise. I can't fall asleep if there's any noise, and I wake up at the slightest noise. I can deal with steady noise, like traffic, but not sudden noises.

Oddly enough, if I'm really tired, I can fall asleep in front of the TV, but I wake up if the programme changes, with new voices/sounds.

I take earplugs with me on holiday, otherwise I wouldn't sleep a wink.

[Deleted]

I am extremely sensitive to noise as well,but,some of it is more to do with being obsessive I have found. Once I identify an unpleasant noise,it is difficult for me to take my focus off of it,and there lies the trouble. If I am really tired,I will fall asleep eventually.
It does depend on the type of noise as well. An airplane,no problem,whereas, a leaf blower,weed whacker,will make me crazy and there's no way I can sleep if one is going.
My husband can fall asleep,anywhere,anytime...

[Deleted]

When I had mice, I found that the most discreet scuttling noise in the heart of the night would wake me in an instant.

[betsie]

Sept 15, 2010 7:34:05 GMT kerouac2 said:

When I had mice, I found that the most discreet scuttling noise in the heart of the night would wake me in an instant.

;D ;D ;D

My husband used to be very impatient with my "noises at night" problem, till one night, during a storm, I kept nagging about an extra noise I could hear. He finally got up and investigated, and discovered that the wind had loosened the lead fixtures on the skylight window in the staircase. I was greatly praised for my alertness when he got down from fixing it, because otherwise the skylight would have blown right off.

[Deleted]

It is fascinating to me the sounds that some people will notice,and be bothered by, that don't allow them to sleep.Also,noises,that I never paid any mind to until,someone brought them to my attention,thank you very much.
I am much more of an urban creature I finally decided,after my recent holiday to bucolic surroundings. I don't mind sirens,garbage trucks,etc.and can sleep through them all.

[Deleted]

And we all know how unusual total silence can wake up some of us.

[spaceneedle]

I am a light sleeper. My mom blames it on the fact that she and my father were young parents and tiptoed around when I was sleeping as a baby so I never learned to block out noise. By the time my sibling arrived there was noise galore and of course they can sleep through any kind of noise, anywhere.

[tod2]

Kerouac - it was interesting to hear about the radio playing you to sleep. That's exactly what my husband does when he's done with watching TV - (which I sleep through )- He turns on his radio which plays for about 20min but he's already asleep in 5 - I wake up when it goes on and only go to sleep when it turns off!

[mich64]

I spent four nights with a bat swooping over my head at night. My husband had cleaned the chimney the day of his first night shift and as you already may guessed a bat got into the house.

I kept telling him there is a bat in our room and he would check but find nothing.

On the fifth night, my husband was done his night shifts and sleeping soundly in bed. When he would start snoring, swoop! over my head the bat would go. I woke him up three times and he could not find anything still and thought I was having a breakdown or something.

The fourth time, the bat flew into our en suite bath and knocked perfume bottles off a shelf that fell into the bathtub. Now he believes me! He then spotted the bat and went to find a net to catch it in. He finally caught the bat and released it outside. He could not believe he could sleep through it swooping over his head. I could because he starts snoring as he is saying goodnight babe, have a go....snore...snore...snore..

[Deleted]

Perhaps the bat would have become a useful element of insect control in your home if your husband's snoring had not caused it to panic.

[mich64]

Sorry Kerouac, but I do not understand. Should we have let the bat stay in the house?

[bixaorellana]

Eine fledermaus in your house?!
Who could sleep, listening to it peep?
Plus the wings of chauve-souris
create such a flurry.

Mich, going crazy, says to her husband so blasé,
"That murciélago must go, or I cannot stay!"
Not lazy, just sleepy, Mr. Mich returns to his slumbers,
until *crash* *WTF?!* then up he lumbers.

A swoop, a clatter, bottles go flying --
finally it's proved that Mich was not lying.
He gets the net, he captures the bat,
releases it outside, and that is that.

Now Kerouac jokes that chez Mich would be bug-free,
if only Pipistrellus were allowed tenancy.
Mich, aghast, cannot stomach the notion,
She yearns for nights without any commotion.

[Deleted]

Oct 18, 2010 20:58:06 GMT mich64 said:

Sorry Kerouac, but I do not understand. Should we have let the bat stay in the house?

Oh damn, I forgot that you are impervious to irony. Sorry!

[mich64]

Thank you Bixa, I had to look up a lot of things in the dictionary for that one, but I think you have made a beautiful poem out of my mundane story.

It is okay Kerouac, you do not have to be sorry, it is all about my learning process.

[bixaorellana]

Your story was better than a movie, Mich! The poem was silly, but your story inspired me. Did you click on the peep link? Yeek! Was your bat making vocal noises, or just swooping? Swooping would be bad enough.

[Deleted]

That was an enchanting last few posts,I love it.

[Kimby]

Mr. Kimby sleeps with earplugs most every night, though our neighborhood is very quiet. I can sleep through most anything (including my own snoring, though it woke me up the first few times I snored).

I come from a long line of good sleepers. My Dad even sleeps in the dentist chair while being drilled on! (The dentist has to wake him up now and then, because his jaw keeps closing, he's so relaxed.)

I agree with K2 about rodent noises. When camping, I am the one who remains alert to the pitter patter little feet and nibbling noises, since I won't wear ear plugs. (In bear country? Are you nuts?)

I did break down and wear ear plugs in Vernazza, on the Cinque Terre coast of Italy. Before the express train bypassed the town, trains roared out of the tunnel below our hotel room at all hours, going in an instant from silence to deafening roar, complete with whistle. But even then, I used only one ear plug, and buried the other ear in my pillow, knowing that once asleep I would turn over and be able to hear noises in the night if necessary.

[Kimby]

I have a bat story too.

Sleeping on a houseboat with my extended family - 9 people from 14 - 84 - Mr. Kimby and I took the banquet benches in the kitchen for our beds, rather than share a cabin with 4 other people. Mr. Kimby decided to retreat to the boat's screened porch for a more comfortable bed.

After I'd just nicely dropped off to sleep, he woke me up with urgency, saying I needed to help him find the bat that had awakened him as it landed on his head and had possibly bitten him. If we didn't find it, and submit its carcass for testing, he would have to undergo rabies treatment! He was quite upset. Our search was thorough, but unsuccessful, so we tried to go back to sleep.

Within minutes, the culprit revealed itself (themselves). The boat was overrun with mice that made sleeping tough, as they chewed on our cereal boxes and the tin foil the fish was baked in. We concluded that a mouse had run across his face while he slept and he just assumed it was a bat. (His earplugs meant that he hadn't heard any of the mousie noises.)

Next day, we made a beeline for the nearest port and picked up mousetraps and rat poison. We killed at least 6 mice that night - every one of our traps was full the next morning. Sleeping got a bit easier after that.

[Deleted]

Mice on tin foil! I can imagine the noise!

The French word for bat is chauve-souris -- "bald mouse". So actually it was just a wingless hairy bat that crawled on Mr. Kimby.

[Kimby]

Except that mice are rodents and don't carry rabies like the carnivorous (insectivorous) bats can. Better a mouse on your face than a bat in your hair!

[Deleted]

One mosquito buzzing around a huge area can also wake me and keep me awake.

[mich64]

I have a mouse story as well.

When we bought this house 14 years ago, the former owners used it as their summer home only. Once we had moved in, we quickly discovered we had more than a few mice. My husband quickly found some access points into the house and made some repairs. However, there were still many mice inside the walls of the house and my husband kept filling up the trays with the poison to get rid of the ones that could now not get out of the house.

On another one of my husband's night shifts, a mouse ran across the kitchen floor. My 140 pound alaskan malamute, Juneau, caught it in his mouth and was about to swallow it. I immediately jumped on his back and grabbed the fur on his shoulders and started shaking him until he spit the mouse out. Out it came all slimy rolling across the floor extremely disoriented.

I keep a plastic bag containing other plastic bags in the cupboard by the back door. I was so panicked I grab that bag (along with all the others) to pick up the mouse to throw out the door. So out the door went the mouse and oh about 20 plastic grocery bags that got caught by a gust of wind and they flew everywhere. My husband came home the next morning wondering what happened!!! What were all these bags doing outside. So I had to explain, I thought if the mouse was full of poison and Juneau swallowed it..... Well, I thought my dog would die too.

He was the last mouse I have thankfully seen in this house.

[Kimby]

That mousie must have told all his friends about the horrific monster that lives in your house, mich!

[mich64]

Hi Kimby, I am not sure who the horrific monster is though? I am sure the mice might have different opinions.

The 140 pound Juneau who snatched one so quickly?

.... or

The mean old lady who traumatized him by throwing him out the door over the deck to the ground?

I am pretty sure they are scared of 2 monsters! I have been without any mice in the house for 14 years, so even though I do not want to be a monster, I do not mind being intimidating.

My 140 pound Juneau is now in heaven and since we have adopted 2 labs, one black named Jacob and one brown named Jebidiah . They keep the squirrels and chipmunks in the trees and enjoy fishing at the shore for minnows.