To block noise while sleeping, use earplugs or noise-canceling earbuds for direct sound blocking, mask disruptive sounds with a white noise machine or fan, and reduce ambient noise with heavy curtains, rugs, and by sealing gaps around doors and windows with blankets or seals. Combining methods, like wearing earplugs with a white noise machine, offers maximum effectiveness against various noises, from snoring to traffic.
Using only a white noise machine or sleep headphones is an alternative if you cannot tolerate foam earplugs. If you want more noise blocking but no foam earplugs, try white noise plus moldable wax or silicone earplugs. While not nearly as effective as foam plugs, these might be good enough for your purpose.
To prevent or quiet snoring, try these tips:
How to sleep through noise and light disruptions
10 hours before bed: No more caffeine. 3 hours before bed: No more food or alcohol. 2 hours before bed: No more work. 1 hour before bed: No more screen time (shut off all phones, TVs and computers).
Stress and fatigue: Emotional stress, anxiety, or lack of sleep can make both the ears and brain more reactive to sounds. When tired or overwhelmed, even everyday noise can become difficult to tolerate. Many people notice that their sensitivity increases during particularly stressful times.
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The Noise Problem: Why It's Harder to Rest Now
This constant exposure to noise can: Disrupt sleep cycles: Even low-level noise during the night (like traffic or snoring) can prevent deep, restorative sleep stages. Cause sensory fatigue: Too much stimulation from sound, light, and screens overwhelms the nervous system.
Breathe in, breathe out — repeat for a calm mind. Start with four breaths, breathing in through your nose for a count of four and out through your mouth for a count of eight. Cover your alarm clock, move your phone to the other room or put your smartwatch to sleep.
While babies often cry during sleep, many adults also experience this, especially during periods of emotional stress, vivid dreams, or underlying anxiety. Whether it's a one-time event or something that's been happening more often, crying in your sleep can be your body's way of processing deeper emotions.
If someone is making unfamiliar gurgling sounds while "sleeping" consider trying to wake the person up. Sometimes a person is assumed to be snoring when the person is actually overdosing.
Get your concentration back by going for a little walk, chilling out in an office green room, or even going to the toilet. Close your eyes and try some breathing techniques.
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To sleep with noise, try masking sounds using white noise machines, earplugs, or calming audio like Muse's Go-to-Sleep Journeys. These help your brain tune out disruptions and stay in deeper stages of sleep.
Listen to relaxing sounds or white noise for sleep
They are affordable, and after a while you get used to them – just make sure that they're soft and flexible. They will muffle the noise around you so that you can fall asleep. If they don't help, try downloading an app with white noise for sleep.
Eliminate caffeine 10 hours before sleep. Cut alcohol 3 hours before bed. Stop working 2 hours before bed. Stop screen time 1 hour before bed.
People with noise sensitivity anxiety often experience negative emotional responses like frustration, dread, or sadness when exposed to certain sounds. Physical symptoms may include a racing heart, sweating, or feeling tense.
Own Your 3-Foot Space In Navy SEAL training, there's a simple but profound principle: Own your 3-foot space. It means focusing on what's directly within your control—your actions, your attitude, your effort—no matter how chaotic the environment around you becomes.
The 4-7-8 breathing technique, also known as “relaxing breath,” involves breathing in for 4 seconds, holding the breath for 7 seconds, and exhaling for 8 seconds. This breathing pattern aims to reduce anxiety or help people get to sleep.
Key Takeaways
The Navy SEAL sleep technique offers a quick eight-minute napping method by elevating legs, potentially aiding relaxation and circulation.
Misophonia is a chronic condition that involves people having distressing emotional reactions to specific sound triggers. Misophonia, literally meaning “hatred of sounds,” is also referred to as selective sound sensitivity syndrome.
Mindfulness and relaxation techniques can be crucial in helping you to deal with noise sensitivity, as they can help you to feel calmer, reduce stress, and get you into a more positive state of mind – meaning you're better able to manage your reactions to sounds.
These common behaviors and signs of sexsomnia include: