Stress is a fact of life that most of us have learned to accept andgrown accustomed to enduring in our busy lives. But minimizing noise,an element that often compounds stress, can lead to betterconcentration, increased productivity and can
reduce your overallstress level.There are many types of audio and visual
noise that can causedistractions that break concentration and increase stress. There’s thenoise of traffic and conversations when we’re walking down the street,but then there’s the subtle everyday
noises of our homes and officesthat can
easily distract us: doors shutting, the television playing,conversations in the next cube, phones ringing, fingers tapping on thekeyboard. A study conducted by Cornell University found that officeworkers exposed to constant noise showed physiological signs of stress,even though they did not report feeling stressed at all. Not only doesthe noise distract you, but it can be stressing you and you don’t evenrealize it.While we can’t necessarily control the fact that the noises exist,there are ways to minimize or eliminate these noises from infiltratingour personal space.And when
outside and background noise is minimized or eliminated, theresult can be a noticeably positive change in human productivity. Astudy by the Federal Interagency Committee on Aviation Noise revealedthat when the outside noise of airplanes flying over a school wasreduced, test scores among high school students increased by 12%. Now,airplanes are a dramatic example of noise, but the evidence shown inthe study speaks for itself – reduction in noise reduces distractions,increases productivity.Here are some suggestions to reduce the sources of noise and stress in your life.Check Your Environment – When you sit down to complete a task thatrequires your full attention, and you find yourself easily distracted,take a look around – is your office disorganized, have a décor thatencourages a lack of concentration, or is the furniture arranged in away that encourages distraction? For example, if your desk faces awindow that overlooks a busy street, maybe you should turn your desk inanother direction. How does your space or office feel? If the colorsand décor are too loud and busy with bright colors, patterns anddesigns, it may be time for a makeover to tone it down a bit if thespace is constantly distracting, rather than inspiring, you. On theother end of the spectrum, if your office décor has muted tones andbare walls, you may need to spruce it up a bit to make your office moreinteresting. Lastly, clutter is an unappreciated distraction for manyof us. If your desk is buried under piles of old files and junk mail,your mind can easily trail off to thinking about what’s in the pileinstead of being focused on the task at hand.Tune the Noise Out – Even after making sure there are no distractionsin your own personal space, you still face the noise of others.Especially for many of us who work in open offices with cubicles,something as small as a quiet conversation between two coworkers candestroy our concentration. Earplugs are an option, but are limited intheir ability to truly turn off the outside noise in your environment.A set of headphones, such as the EX29 Extreme Isolation Noise ReductionHeadphones, can completely tune out the noise. Unlike noisecancellation
headphones that attempt to balance the noise coming intothe headphones to the noise outside of the headphones to create quiet,noise reduction headphones go a step further and block outside noise.In addition to blocking out distracting noises to help increaseconcentration, the EX29 Extreme Isolation headphones do not needbatteries and you can wear them for hours without fatigue. If you usethem to listen to music, you do not have to raise the volume tooverride outside noise – instead, you will be able to enjoy theintricate nuances of your favorite music.Get Your Downward Dog On – A routine
yoga practice can reduce the“noise in your head” so that when you do sit down to concentrate, youwon’t be distracted by the noise between your ears. There are severaldifferent types of Yoga for various fitness levels, and with the focuson breathing to ease the flow of oxygen throughout the body, mostpeople notice a significant difference in stress levels from their veryfirst Yoga session. There are many medical research reports to supportthe health benefits of the exercise done in Yoga, and many Yogis claimsuccess in gaining an ability to focus on the present moment, makingthem more productive and less stressed than non-Yogis.Research from sources such as Cornell University, Yale University,University College London, and the National Institute for OccupationalSafety and Health point to a link between noise and stress. While thereare many other ways to reduce the stress in your life, the abovesuggestions are a prescription to minimizing the noise and stress thatyou inevitably face everyday.Article Source: http://www.articlecube.comLee Blue is an avid musician, composer, and home studio recordingartist. He uses Extreme Isolation headphones in his recording studio aswell as his office during work to block out distractions. Learn moreabout noise reducing headphones at www.quietheadphones.com
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