Noise and Heart Attack Risk

I read an interesting article this morning:

Traffic Noise Causes Heart Attacks

Whilst traffic noise and laminate flooring impact noise are two different kinds of noise, it is interesting (and rather worrying) to note the similarities - invasive, erratic, irregular and outside the control of the person being subjected to the noise.

Also, as noted in the article, "the researchers found that there was a 40 percent higher risk of a heart attack in people exposed to traffic noise exceeding 50 decibels — a relatively quiet level of noise;" The noises that I experience from the laminate flooring above me are generally louder than the traffic noise from the busy road outside. I would love to see a study done into the actual effects of laminate flooring noise on health - a study that takes the 2005 DEFRA Study a step further than simply saying "laminate flooring creates a noise problem but all we are going to do is produce a leaflet no-one is obliged to adhere to, evern if they bother to read it."

The World Health Organisation (WHO) have produced studies on the effects of noise on health. They also raise the issue of noise creating heart attack risk ~

"Acute noise exposures activate the autonomic and hormonal systems, leading to temporary changes such as increased blood pressure, increased heart rate and vasoconstriction. After prolonged exposure, susceptible individuals in the general population may develop permanent effects, such as hypertension and ischaemic heart disease associated with exposures to high sound pressure levels (for a review see Passchier-Vermeer 1993; Berglund & Lindvall 1995). The magnitude and duration of the effects are determined in part by individual characteristics, lifestyle behaviours and environmental conditions. Sounds also evoke reflex responses, particularly when they are unfamiliar and have a sudden onset." (Section 3.4 Cardiovascular and Physiological Effects)

It is not a huge leap of the imagination to suggest that people jumping, running, thumping, banging, door slamming and dancing on laminate flooring - ie force feeding random, loud, impact noises into a neighbour's property are in fact risking their neighbour's lives.

Why is there no legislation about this type of noise?

Anti-social impact noise before dawn

Living under laminate flooring has a long list of negative influences, but one of the most frustrating, upsetting and disturbing is the intrusion into sleep. Sleep disturbance and deprivation is one of the most common forms of torture and living under laminate flooring exposes a person to this kind of torture.

The body needs good quality sleep to repair itself and the mind needs good quality sleep for relaxation and emotional health. It's not rocket science. So why local councils and the law continue to allow residents to install laminate flooring in upper flatted properties is beyond reason.

Being woken at 6am on a Sunday morning by thumping, banging and thundering feet is not the healthiest way to end a night's sleep and it is not the healthiest way to begin a new day. Quite why people feel the need to slam doors and run on their laminate flooring at 6am on a Sunday morning is beyond comprehension.

Ruptured sleep on a regular basis pushes a person to the edge.