TEDMED 2018
Mathias Basner: Why noise is bad for your health -- and what you can do about it
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Silence is a rare commodity these days. There's traffic, construction, air-conditioning, your neighbor's lawnmower ... and all this unwanted sound can have a surprising impact on your health, says noise researcher Mathias Basner. Discover the science behind how noise affects your health and sleep -- and how you can get more of the benefits of the sound of silence.
Mathias Basner - Sleep and noise researcher
Mathias Basner researches the effects of noise on sleep, health, neurobehavioral and cognitive functions and more. Full bio
Mathias Basner researches the effects of noise on sleep, health, neurobehavioral and cognitive functions and more. Full bio
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Do you hear that?
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Do you know what that is?
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Silence.
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The sound of silence.
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Simon and Garfunkel wrote a song about it.
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But silence is a pretty
rare commodity these days,
rare commodity these days,
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and we're all paying a price for it
in terms of our health --
in terms of our health --
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a surprisingly big price, as it turns out.
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Luckily, there are things
we can do right now,
we can do right now,
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both individually and as a society,
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to better protect our health
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and give us more of the benefits
of the sounds of silence.
of the sounds of silence.
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I assume that most of you know that
too much noise is bad for your hearing.
too much noise is bad for your hearing.
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Whenever you leave a concert or a bar
and you have that ringing in your ears,
and you have that ringing in your ears,
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you can be certain that you have done
some damage to your hearing,
some damage to your hearing,
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likely permanent.
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And that's very important.
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However, noise affects our health
in many different ways beyond hearing.
in many different ways beyond hearing.
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They're less well-known,
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but they're just as dangerous
as the auditory effects.
as the auditory effects.
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So what do we mean
when we talk about noise?
when we talk about noise?
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Well, noise is defined as unwanted sound,
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and as such, both has
a physical component, the sound,
a physical component, the sound,
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and a psychological component,
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the circumstances that make
the sound unwanted.
the sound unwanted.
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A very good example is a rock concert.
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A person attending the rock concert,
being exposed to 100 decibels,
being exposed to 100 decibels,
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does not think of the music as noise.
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This person likes the band, and even
paid a hundred dollars for the ticket,
paid a hundred dollars for the ticket,
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so no matter how loud the music,
this person doesn't think of it as noise.
this person doesn't think of it as noise.
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In contrast, think of a person living
three blocks away from the concert hall.
three blocks away from the concert hall.
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That person is trying to read a book,
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but cannot concentrate
because of the music.
because of the music.
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And although the sound pressure levels
are much lower in this situation,
are much lower in this situation,
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this person still thinks
of the music as noise,
of the music as noise,
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and it may trigger reactions that can,
in the long run, have health consequences.
in the long run, have health consequences.
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So why are quiet spaces so important?
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Because noise affects our health
in so many ways beyond hearing.
in so many ways beyond hearing.
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However, it's becoming increasingly
difficult to find quiet spaces
difficult to find quiet spaces
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in times of constantly increasing traffic,
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growing urbanization,
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construction sites,
air-conditioning units,
air-conditioning units,
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leaf blowers, lawnmowers,
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outdoor concerts and bars,
personal music players,
personal music players,
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and your neighbors partying until 3am.
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Whew!
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In 2011, the World Health
Organization estimated
Organization estimated
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that 1.6 million healthy life years
are lost every year
are lost every year
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due to exposure to environmental noise
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in the Western European
member states alone.
member states alone.
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One important effect of noise
is that it disturbs communication.
is that it disturbs communication.
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You may have to raise your voice
to be understood.
to be understood.
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In extreme cases, you may even
have to pause the conversation.
have to pause the conversation.
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It's also more likely to be misunderstood
in a noisy environment.
in a noisy environment.
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These are all likely reasons
why studies have found
why studies have found
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that children who attend
schools in noisy areas
schools in noisy areas
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are more likely to lag behind their peers
in academic performance.
in academic performance.
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Another very important
health effect of noise
health effect of noise
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is the increased risk
for cardiovascular disease
for cardiovascular disease
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in those who are exposed
to relevant noise levels
to relevant noise levels
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for prolonged periods of time.
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Noise is stress,
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especially if we have little
or no control over it.
or no control over it.
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Our body excretes stress hormones
like adrenaline and cortisol
like adrenaline and cortisol
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that lead to changes
in the composition of our blood
in the composition of our blood
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and in the structure of our blood vessels,
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which have been shown to be stiffer
after a single night of noise exposure.
after a single night of noise exposure.
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Epidemiological studies show associations
between the noise exposure
between the noise exposure
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and an increased risk
for high blood pressure,
for high blood pressure,
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heart attacks and stroke,
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and although the overall risk increases
are relatively small,
are relatively small,
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this still constitutes
a major public health problem
a major public health problem
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because noise is so ubiquitous,
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and so many people are exposed
to relevant noise levels.
to relevant noise levels.
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A recent study found that US society
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could save 3.9 billion dollars each year
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by lowering environmental
noise exposure by five decibels,
noise exposure by five decibels,
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just by saving costs for treating
cardiovascular disease.
cardiovascular disease.
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There are other diseases
like cancer, diabetes and obesity
like cancer, diabetes and obesity
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that have been linked to noise exposure,
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but we do not have enough evidence yet
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to, in fact, conclude that these diseases
are caused by the noise.
are caused by the noise.
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Yet another important effect of noise
is sleep disturbance.
is sleep disturbance.
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Sleep is a very active mechanism
that recuperates us
that recuperates us
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and prepares us for the next wake period.
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A quiet bedroom is a cornerstone
of what sleep researchers call
of what sleep researchers call
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"a good sleep hygiene."
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And our auditory system
has a watchman function.
has a watchman function.
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It's constantly monitoring
our environment for threats,
our environment for threats,
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even while we're sleeping.
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So noise in the bedroom can cause a delay
in the time it takes us to fall asleep,
in the time it takes us to fall asleep,
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it can wake us up during the night,
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and it can prevent our blood pressure
from going down during the night.
from going down during the night.
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We have the hypothesis that
if these noise-induced sleep disturbances
if these noise-induced sleep disturbances
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continue for months and years,
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then an increased risk for cardiovascular
disease is likely the consequence.
disease is likely the consequence.
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However, we are often not aware
of these noise-induced sleep disturbances,
of these noise-induced sleep disturbances,
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because we are unconscious
while we're sleeping.
while we're sleeping.
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In the past, we've done studies
on the effects of traffic noise on sleep,
on the effects of traffic noise on sleep,
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and research subjects would often
wake up in the morning and say,
wake up in the morning and say,
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"Ah, I had a wonderful night,
I fell asleep right away,
I fell asleep right away,
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never really woke up."
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When we would go back
to the physiological signals
to the physiological signals
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we had recorded during the night,
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we would often see numerous awakenings
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and a severely fragmented sleep structure.
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These awakenings were too brief
for the subjects to regain consciousness
for the subjects to regain consciousness
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and to remember them
during the next morning,
during the next morning,
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but they may nevertheless
have a profound impact
have a profound impact
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on how restful our sleep is.
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So when is loud too loud?
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A good sign of too loud is
once you start changing your behavior.
once you start changing your behavior.
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You may have to raise your voice
to be understood,
to be understood,
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or you increase the volume of your TV.
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You're avoiding outside areas,
or you're closing your window.
or you're closing your window.
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You're moving your bedroom
to the basement of the house,
to the basement of the house,
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or you even have
sound insulation installed.
sound insulation installed.
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Many people will move away
to less noisy areas,
to less noisy areas,
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but obviously not everybody
can afford that.
can afford that.
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So what can we do right now
to improve our sound environment
to improve our sound environment
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and to better protect our health?
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Well, first of all,
if something's too loud, speak up.
if something's too loud, speak up.
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For example, many owners of movie theaters
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seem to think that only people hard
of hearing are still going to the movies.
of hearing are still going to the movies.
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If you complain about the noise
and nothing happens,
and nothing happens,
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demand a refund and leave.
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That's the language that managers
typically do understand.
typically do understand.
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Also, talk to your children
about the health effects of noise
about the health effects of noise
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and that listening to loud music today
will have consequences when they're older.
will have consequences when they're older.
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You can also move your bedroom
to the quiet side of the house,
to the quiet side of the house,
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where your own building shields you
from road traffic noise.
from road traffic noise.
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If you're looking to rent
or buy a new place,
or buy a new place,
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make low noise a priority.
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Visit the property during
different times of the day
different times of the day
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and talk to the neighbors about noise.
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You can wear noise-canceling headphones
when you're traveling
when you're traveling
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or if your office has high
background noise levels.
background noise levels.
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In general, seek out quiet spaces,
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especially on the weekend
or when you're on vacation.
or when you're on vacation.
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Allow your system to wind down.
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I, very appropriately for this talk,
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attended a noise conference
in Japan four years ago.
in Japan four years ago.
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When I returned to the United States
and entered the airport,
and entered the airport,
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a wall of sound hit me.
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This tells you that
we don't realize anymore
we don't realize anymore
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the constant degree
of noise pollution we're exposed to
of noise pollution we're exposed to
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and how much we could profit
from more quiet spaces.
from more quiet spaces.
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What else can we do about noise?
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Well, very much like a carbon footprint,
we all have a noise footprint,
we all have a noise footprint,
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and there are things we can do
to make that noise footprint smaller.
to make that noise footprint smaller.
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For example, don't start mowing your lawn
at 7am on a Saturday morning.
at 7am on a Saturday morning.
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Your neighbors will thank you.
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Or use a rake instead of a leaf blower.
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In general, noise reduction at the source
makes the most sense,
makes the most sense,
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so whenever you're looking
to buy a new car,
to buy a new car,
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air-conditioning unit,
blender, you name it,
blender, you name it,
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make low noise a priority.
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Many manufacturers will list
the noise levels their devices generate,
the noise levels their devices generate,
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and some even advertise with them.
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Use that information.
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Many people think that stronger noise
regulation and enforcement are good ideas,
regulation and enforcement are good ideas,
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even obvious solutions, perhaps,
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but it's not as easy as you may think,
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because many of the activities
that generate noise
that generate noise
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also generate revenue.
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Think about an airport and all
the business that is associated with it.
the business that is associated with it.
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Our research tells politicians
at what noise level
at what noise level
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they can expect a certain health effect,
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and that helps inform better noise policy.
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Robert Koch supposedly once said,
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"One day, mankind will fight noise
as relentlessly as cholera and the pest."
as relentlessly as cholera and the pest."
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I think we're there,
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and I hope that we will win this fight,
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and when we do, we can all have
a nice, quiet celebration.
a nice, quiet celebration.
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(Laughter)
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Mathias Basner - Sleep and noise researcherMathias Basner researches the effects of noise on sleep, health, neurobehavioral and cognitive functions and more.
Why you should listen
Mathias Basner, MD, PhD, MSc is an associate professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. His primary research interests concern the effects of sleep loss on neurobehavioral and cognitive functions, population studies on sleep time and waking activities, the effects of traffic noise on sleep and health, and astronaut behavioral health on long-duration space missions. These research areas overlap widely. Basner has published more than 80 journal articles and reviewed articles for more than 80 scientific journals. He is currently on the editorial board of the journals Sleep Health and Frontiers in Physiology.
Between 1999 and 2008, Basner conducted several large-scale laboratory and field studies on the effects of traffic noise on sleep at the German Aerospace Center. For this research, Basner was awarded the German Aerospace Center Research Award in 2007 and the Science Award of the German Academy for Aviation and Travel Medicine in 2010. Basner developed an ECG-based algorithm for the automatic identification of autonomic activations associated with cortical arousal that was used in several field studies to non-invasively assess the effects of aircraft noise on sleep. He is currently funded by the FAA to obtain current exposure-response functions describing the effects of aircraft noise on sleep for the United States. Basner has been an advisor to the World Health Organization (WHO) on the effects of traffic noise on sleep and health on a number of occasions. He performed a systematic evidence review on the effects of noise on sleep for the recently published revision of WHO's Environmental Noise Guidelines for the European Region.
Basner is currently President of the International Commission of Biological Effects of Noise (ICBEN) and member of the Impacts and Science Group of the Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP) of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). He also represents the University of Pennsylvania in FAA's Aviation Sustainability Center (ASCENT).
Mathias Basner | Speaker | TED.com