How to block out disturbing sounds.

I'm having a lot of difficulty sleeping right now. I'm in a familiar, but not my home environment (i.e. college). At home, I'm always very aware of the movements of my family and the heating system, etc. This doesn't disturb me though. However, at university, there is almost always people shouting outside, walking about, shutting doors, talking loudly and playing music. It's all random and I'm struggling to adjust.

A few nights ago I just laid in bed, so tense my muscles were jittering about the place, flinching every time anyone opened a door. As you might imagine, I can't dream lucidly if I can't get to sleep! Being disturbed in the night also really screws up my recall (probably because I only recall dreams if there was some partial aspect of lucidity to them).

So I'd really like some tips on how to be able to block out this unwelcome noise, so I can relax and get some proper dreaming done!

Ear Plugs?

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Originally posted by Forsaken Exposition
Ear Plugs?

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:lol: No use - irritate me possibly more than the noise!

Ahh..Lol.

Well...You mgiht be Screwed then. :P

Just kidding. Sound Proofing the walls could always work.

But, enough playing around. The best advice I can give is to simply ignore it. Maybe you could get a small radio or something and put it right by your bed. That way, you play some music you like thats loud enough for YOU to hear without also affecting other people.

You can get used to ear plugs much more easily than you can get used to hallway noise.

I'd consider them.

Plastic or Foam?

Booblies

Hey Grey Dragon,
I too have been having the same problem as you. Well, sort of at least. I can usually get past the noise of my two roomates, but the stress of college life keeps me from having and Lucids. As far as being able to sleep, I decided to go pick up some over the counter sleep aids and took them a couple nights in a row before going to bed. When you take those things, they pretty much knock you out and you forget about the noise. For me, after a few nights I was able to stop taking them and still fall asleep despite noise because my body was just used to it. I havent been able to attain lucidity since, but at least I can get up and go to class functional :)

Allen

You could try this as it is supposed to be successful at masking unwanted noises:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/White-Noise-CD-For-R...1QQcmdZViewItem

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Soundproofing isn't really an option (though I'd love to). Neither is my wish of removing every other human body on campus to Norway. The only ear plugs I can find are old fashioned tear a piece of cotton wool and stuff it in - not especially effective.

I think I'll try the music idea. I have Enya's latest CD, which is very soothing, mellow and enough to block out noise without being booming or anything.

I'm wary of trying medication. I never feel very safe with it. So that's Plan B.

After two long nights of whatever they were doing that was so loud, campus was quiet again last night (apparently they do need sleep after all). So I got some sleep, had a good dream (i.e. one in which I was the eponymous grey dragon!) and feel much better today.

A possible alternative is to find a way of training myself not to be so vigilant of night noises (including when actually sleeping), as I think I'm much more edgy than most. So if anyone has discovered a way of training yourself to stop "listening out" so much, please share.

If all else fails, I guess I'll just have to hang in there and wait until I adjust (or until I'm too tired to care any more!).

Wishing quiet nights to you all.
-Grey Dragon

One thing you can try is to find a fan and turn that on in your room. The constant, soft hum that they make is great for drowning out other outside sounds... because the sound of the fan is so constant you dont' notice it much.

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Originally posted by Roller
One thing you can try is to find a fan and turn that on in your room. The constant, soft hum that they make is great for drowning out other outside sounds... because the sound of the fan is so constant you dont' notice it much.

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A fan is an excellent idea and is helpful to many people in falling asleep, because not only does it help block out noise, but it hums along at a steady alpha rate that is helpful in falling asleep. Any kind of steady noise like a fan or white noise can help in falling asleep.

I was going to suggest the white noise as well.
For my polyphasic sleeping, during my naps I listen to a 23 minute mp3 of white, blue and brown noise mixed together.
Works wonders for me.

Put it this way, I nap at work with my head on my desk. And I don't have an office - it's open plan.

Try the fan idea, it really does work.

Noise used to bug me alot. I started using a fan out of necessity in the summer because of the heat. Now in the dead of winter it's still in my room being used every night because the white noise helps me sleep so much.