October 19, 2020
CITIES WERE A MISTAKE:
One important benefit of quarantine: reduced noise: Noise pollution is terrible for our health, yet we don't discuss it often enough. (DEREK BERES, 12 October, 2020, Big Think)
Levels of urban noise in the United States increased by 12 percent between 1995-2006--a problem so bad that 40 percent of Americans surveyed claimed they wanted to move somewhere quieter.City residents are accustomed to noise levels regularly being above 85 decibels (dB). Live with that for a few years and hearing loss might be in your future. Cut your skin and it heals within days. Lose your hearing and it's not coming back.Beyond aural annoyance, excess noise has other detrimental effects on our health. Increased levels of noise cause levels of glucocorticoid enzymes in our bodies to rise by as much as 40 percent, leading to elevated fatigue and stress. Research has shown that workplace noise contributes to exhaustion, blood pressure elevation, and negative attitudes.A 128-page World Health Organization report, "Burden of Disease from Environmental Noise," published in 2011, notes that excess noise contributes to learning problems with "reading comprehension, memory, and attention." Exposure to high levels of noise during critical years in childhood has a negative "lifelong effect on educational attainment."
Posted by Orrin Judd at October 19, 2020 12:00 AM