Noise and sound: Effects on mental health and well-being

On this page

• Positive effects of sound on mental health and well-being
• Negative effects of sound on mental health and well-being

Positive effects of sound on mental health and well-being

Listening to different sounds, like your favourite song or the sound of nature, can be a wanted and enjoyable experience. Music has been shown to increase feelings of well-being and significantly increase mental health. Shared music experiences at concerts, festivals and at home can enhance social connections and mood. Playing a musical instrument is associated with improved cognitive health and well-being.

Music is used in therapeutic interventions to help increase the quality of life for people with:

• anxiety
• dementia
• depression
• brain injury
• other disorders

Natural sounds in our environment also increase feelings of well-being and can reduce stress. This includes the sounds of:

• rain
• birds
• waves
• wind in trees
• running water

Natural soundscapes in urban areas can help reduce the negative impacts from unwanted noise from traffic and other sources of noise pollution.

Negative effects of sound on health and well-being

Sounds can also be unpleasant and unenjoyable. People often refer to unwanted sound as noise. Being bothered, disturbed, annoyed or experiencing stress because of unwanted sound will depend on the sound itself and on the person experiencing the sound.

Annoyance

Annoyance due to sound depends on the person and typically occurs when the sound is sustained over a period of time. A sound that's highly annoying to you may not bother someone else. Also, a sound that bothers you one day may not bother you another day, depending on how you are feeling or the situation.

Factors that can influence your annoyance levels when exposed to a sound include:

• pre-existing stress
• the source of a sound and your relation to it
• your expectations around sounds
  • for example, sound leads to higher annoyance when it happens at times when there's an expectation of quiet, like at night while sleeping

Sleep disturbance

Sounds that intrude above background sound levels can disturb your sleep by:

• making it difficult to fall asleep or stay asleep
• waking you up earlier than intended

It's difficult to predict when sounds will disturb your sleep. However, it's more likely to happen because of sounds that are particularly meaningful to you, even at low levels. Meaningful sounds could be those you are sensitized to during your awake hours, like:

• pets
• children
• someone saying your name
• sounds you find disturbing or particularly annoying

Studies have shown that there are changes in brain activity, blood pressure and heart rate in response to sounds while you're sleeping. This occurs even when the sound doesn't cause you to fully wake up. This is because our ears don't turn off at night. Your brain is constantly evaluating the environment for sounds that may be threatening.

Common sources of sound that might affect sleep include:

• television or music
• children, other people or pets
• heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems
• outdoor noise such as transportation, construction, snow and garbage removal vehicles, animals and weather events

Sudden or intrusive sound is more likely to affect sleep than continuous quieter sound. Many people will also at least partially adapt to non-relevant sound in their environment. For example, people who move to a higher traffic neighbourhood might find at first that the increased traffic sounds affect their sleep. However, as they get used to the new sound levels, they may find that it doesn't bother their sleep as much.

Ways to keep sound from disturbing your sleep:

• insulate walls, floors and windows
• wear earplugs as a temporary solution
• mask disruptive sounds with white noise
• turn off the sound on your electronic devices
• add soft surfaces like rugs, pillows or cloth wall hangings