"We live in a world of ambient hums, from air conditioners and distant traffic to the whir of our own thoughts. It's no surprise many people reach for active noise-cancelling (ANC) headphones to escape it all. Originally designed for planes and offices, ANC devices, including earbuds, have become a popular bedtime tool for chasing total quiet. But the brain doesn't actually want silence to sleep, and forcing it can backfire."
"The best way to fall and stay asleep is to quiet the mind, not just what enters your ears. We call this creating "cognitive silence," and ANC often gets in the way. Even during sleep, the brain keeps an ear out for danger. It's an evolutionary survival mechanism in which the auditory system monitors the environment for changes: a creak, a bark, or a door slam."
We live amid ambient hums from air conditioners, traffic, and internal thoughts, leading many to use active noise-cancelling (ANC) devices at bedtime. The brain requires cognitive silence—quieting the mind—rather than absolute external silence to fall and stay asleep. During sleep the auditory system monitors the environment for changes; excessive quiet can make this alert system hypersensitive. Sudden noises fragment sleep, harming mood, metabolism, cognitive performance, increasing stress hormones, and reducing deep restorative sleep stages. Effective sleep soundscapes provide a safe, steady acoustic background. ANC cancels consistent, low-frequency sounds but struggles with complex or higher-frequency noises and can even amplify sounds beyond its cancellation range.
Read at Fast Company
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