How to help 8 and 6 year old sleep in noisy home

[TheBelmont]

We’ve temporarily moved into a city centre home with our 2 kids in a very busy and noisy city. It fun but not ideal during the night as we are on a busy road (buses and police cars/ambulances regularly zipping by) and close to lots of bars and restaurants and so we get a streaky stream of loud revellers talking, singing (and sometimes fighting!) outside. My kids are struggling to sleep through and get woken up a few times a night with all the noise.

do you have any recommendations for helping them sleep? I thought white noise but I’ve read that the health implications are unknown . Possibly earplugs? Are there recommendations for good ones for kids?

We’re here for the best part of a year. And they are struggling with sleep, any recommendations greatly received (except move…we really don’t have a choice!)

Bedtime/sleep music or audio book on in the background? Not heard of white noise having health implications, guess you’d have to weigh that against the implications of lack of consolidated sleep.

could you move the rooms around at all and have them further away from the street?

sounds really hard though! Hopefully they will get use to most of it in time

Thanks for replying @Hello47! they can get to sleep just fine…we are keeping them busy during the day so by bedtime they zonk out immediately. We tried earplugs which were an epic fail…both complained endlessly about itchy ears and they fell out anyway 😆 they are doing a bit better…maybe getting used to it so will hope we all just get used to it and during the holidays, it’s fine. I’m more worried about when they get back to school.!

My kids have always had white noise and still do in their early teens. How can sound have any health implications I'm curious?

Not always the most comfortable of things but sleeping with ear defenders on has often helped my daughter.

@PeachF it was this article I stumbled across which got me wondering. I’ve never used it mysel
https://amp.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/oct/18/white-noise-as-sleep-aid-may-do-more-harm-than-good-say-scientists

Might be a bit of an expensive solution, but some of the Loop earplugs are specially designed for sleeping, or other similar ones, rather than just the normal disposable foam ones. Or there are headbands for sleeping with speakers in them, to listen to music/books/white noise while they go off to sleep, and then just having their ears covered by the headband might give some protection the rest of the night. I think they're called sleepphones, but I'm sure cheaper brands exist. I don't think they'd stay on my ears - I've never been able to keep eye masks on, even - but some people say they're good.

otherwise I think white noise is probably the best option. I've put the fan on and that often helps a bit.

Another thing I tried (I live on a noisy road with trucks going over speedbumps etc) is that it was the vibration that was part of the issue (and this might be the case with loud music etc and not just traffic) was putting anti-vibration coasters under the bed posts. or if tehre aren't bed legs, then anti vibration mats perhaps. That meant that I didn't feel the noise quite as much (though I still do and haven't got used to it after years, though my neighbours have!).

Sound reduction curtains might help as well, if it's worth the investment for a year. They don't block out sound to a great extent, but sort of dampen it a bit, things like voices. If you don't get what they look like/what size/colour, you can get a cheaper pair on sale or from Ebay or whatever, brands like Moondreams sometimes get rid of old ready-made stock. Also just filling the room with soft furnishings can help, or acoustic panels (I think Ikea sell some).

You could also put a temporary cover over the window if you are allowed anything like that and if it's not the only fire escape. More permanent solutions have secondary glazing inside that can be opened if needed, but anything that covers it up somewhat would help.

Never heard that white noise is harmful. Could you try a fan on full power? It’s white noise ish without actually playing a weird sound if that helps!

@TheBelmont ahh ok. Although it does say near the bottom that there is a benefit for those sleeping in a noisy environment which is a solution you're looking for.

"Prof Christian Cajochen, who heads the Centre for Chronobiology at the University of Basel in Switzerland, said: “I think the better [forms of] continuous white noise mask highly intermittent background noise, which is why it is recommended for nightshift workers who often need to sleep during the day in a ‘noisy’ environment. There I can see a benefit, but not when sleeping in a relatively quiet environment. "

My children often go to bed at a particularly noisy time in my area - we are close to a sports club for teenagers and they are noisy when they arrive/leave and often hang around chatting and kicking balls around afterwards. The teens aren’t doing anything wrong so I wouldn’t try to stop them - it’s easier to use white noise to mask it a bit and it works. I know the children don’t need the white noise all the time because we don’t take it on holiday and they sleep just fine. It serves a useful purpose when needed.

I got a HEPA filter as I was struggling with a dust allergy and it's made my sleep so much better. I used to get woken up by people coming back from a night out all the time but now I never hear a thing. Total bliss and might work for you too.

According to the article you shared, it says silence is preferable to white noise. As there is no chance of silence ehr3e you are atm, white noise is a good solution. The health risks of lack of sleep are more.

Was just about to post the exact same quote from the article.

I live in a noisy block of flats and find white noise really helps mask / minimise the disruption. My toddler has stopped being woken in the night since we started using it.

Ok…I’m convinced :) I’ll give the white noise a go. I feel like I’d have to leave it on all night though? Does that sound right?

You could try both - leave it on all night or just for a couple of hours while they drop off. See whether it makes any difference

They’re old enough for you to explain that you’re trying something to see if it helps

Just to make you feel better, when I was a child, we moved around a lot and lived in v noisy flats in busy areas and as an adult now, I can sleep through any noise like that outside.

I go on business trips and my colleagues complain about noisy hotels and I'm utterly oblivious !

I think after a while, they will just get used to it