White noise is the use of structured sound to help tune out unstructured sound.  You may not realize it, but most, if not all, of life’s annoying noise is actually unstructured in that it is erratic and changes and is therefore quite distracting.  Thus, the art of sound masking came into existence.  Sound masking systems use speakers to emit white noise into offices for two main reasons:

  • Reduce distractions.
  • Achieve confidential privacy.

Businesses nationwide have found great success in these two areas as a result of sound masking.  Interestingly, I have found that there are other reasons to use white noise, such as at home.

5 {A}typical Ways to Use White Noise

  1. earthearpysoundcard-300x280 (6)Sleep.  Sound machines have proven quite useful in a variety of sleep situations.  From just wanting a good night of sleep at home to traveling in strange places to wanting a quick nap for yourself and/or your baby/child, millions have found sound machines to be their best shot at uninterrupted sleep.
  2. Jet lag.  Jet lag sucks, there’s no way around it.  Being tired but not being able to sleep at “normal” times or what feels like the right time to sleep is so demoralizing.  Like insomniacs, you lie awake when everyone else is snoring and while you can’t sleep, you can’t help but think about how tired you’ll be the next day.  Sound machines with a jet lag reduction feature can be quite useful when traveling across the US or abroad.
  3. Creative Role Play.  My kids use their sound machine for pretending all the time.  They love to make it windy or hear waves lapping at the beach or birds twittering in the jungle.  Their friends think it’s a ball, too!
  4. Animal Cages & Pets.  I never would have thought of it myself {maybe because I don’t like reptiles}, but our children’s museum used a sound machine with nature sounds for their caged reptiles.
  5.   Tinnitis.  If you’ve ever experienced ringing in your ears, then you know hos frustrating and uncomfortable tinnitis can be and how it robs you of sleep and even focus at work.  Sound therapy through a sound machine can really help the discomfort tinnitis causes.

Sound machines are a great investment for many families since they help with so many different problems or can be applied so creatively.  If you’re not sure about whether you like it or not, try out this free white noise generator.

Last post, I threw around the term “distraction-free, solo work,” and I realized that maybe that wasn’t a technical term for everyone.  In fact, it’s not a technical term; it’s just the best way to sum up what the modern worker craves: the ability to work undistracted and on their own terms.  This is harder to achieve than one might guess.  Office distractions abound, namely conversational ones.  Workers get caught up in them, suffer innumerable interruptions, and lose time.

  • The average worker is distracted more than 2 hours every day!
  • That distraction costs businesses around 4350 billion a year!

That’s a lot of distraction and a hefty price tag for a problem no one likes.  It’s not as if workers delight in distraction as some work get- away.  As a matter of fact, they are just as annoyed as their managers are.  In a 2002 study of 13,000 office workers, the “attribute found to be most effective was the ‘ability to do distraction free solo work’ followed by ‘support for impromptu interactions (both in one’s workspace and elsewhere.)” Employees were trying to tell their management they just wanted a place where they could think and work by themselves, with help or the need to bounce some ideas off of someone else being the exception rather than the rule.

IMPROVED PRODUCTIVITY
Mardex also quotes some findings by the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID). ASID did a national survey and discovered that “more than 70 percent of respondents indicated that their productivity would improve if their workspace was less noisy. A similar ASID survey of corporate executives indicated that only 19 percent were conscious of any sort of noise problem.” In other words, the workers say they would just like a quiet place to work, while their management is oblivious to the problem.

Bottom line: Your workers would like a quiet place to work, but still have the occasional freedom to share ideas or provide feedback on on-going work. They also feel that if they are given a quiet place to work, their productivity will go up.

SOUND MASKING ENABLES “DISTRACTION-FREE SOLO WORK”
The best way to facilitate distraction-free solo work is sound masking.  The idea is that a sound masking system provides white noise through in-ceiling speakers so that the brain listens to the low-level background noise instead of the office noise around them.  It may seem strange that white noise, ie noise, is better than office noise itself.  It’s important to understand that all noise is not created equally.  Bothersome noise is structured and passes along information, be it conversations or music.  Thus, the brain naturally listens to it, whether intentionally or not.  In contrast, white noise is unstructured and communicates nothing, so the brain naturally tunes it out.  Thus, white noise trumps unwanted noise because it can cover it.

The benefits of sound masking are simple: it achieves speech privacy for productivity without adding too much extra noise to prove bothersome itself.

As I was laying down for a much-needed nap this afternoon with my sweet preschooler, I thought about why I have already felt so unproductive this year.  It has hardly been 2013, and yet I already feel drained and exhausted for no apparent reason.  Feeling fatigued and using the kids’ nap time/my down time as rest time for myself has not helped me work from home efficiently.  It leaves all my work for the end of the day when I am weary from chores and long winter days, which means I either punt on it {not ideal for when I need a pay check} or I take twice as long to accomplish what I could have completed more coherently and successfully earlier in the day.  It seems to be a vicious cycle of not getting enough rest, putting too much strain on my body, and not structuring my time well.

Tips for Making the New Year Work for You

Thus, I thought we’d do some end of January tips for making the “new” year work for you, whether you work from home or even if you have a boss breathing down your neck.

  • Get rest.  It seems to me that many of our problems are related to sleep deprivation.  Unless you have an infant, go to bed at a decent hour {say before  or around 10 pm- gasp!} and get the rest you need so you can get up at a decent hour, refreshed and ready to get started.  After a couple of days of disciplining yourself to do this, your body will get in gear and like you for it.
  • Re-design your work space.  A cramped, messy, or disorganized work space is your enemy.  Clear the clutter, file stuff, and just get your space in working order so you can focus on work and not on the chaos around you.
  • Make your work space and movements more ergonomic.  I noticed during my nap time with my son that I had my wrist cocked in an awkward way to support his little self as he dozed.  It occurred to me that we frequently do the same kind of thing when typing or reaching for things on our desks.  It is important to minimize strain on our bodies.  Thus, keep essential items within easy reach and be sure not to cock your wrists while typing.  There are many ergonomic products and practices that can help you stay healthy and not strained.
  • Try a sound machine.  Now that you are rested and not strained, it’s time to tune out distractions.  White noise, or a sound machine, can be a great resource for loud or irritating/erratic noises that break your focus.
  • Take breaks. If you find you still aren’t as productive as you’d like to be, take a break.  Sometimes just getting away from the work for even a few minutes will help you get better perspective and possibly even an different angle.

If you’re tired of feeling tired and unproductive, try these 5 tips for changing up your routine and work space.

Frequently people wonder what white noise is exactly.  The term gets bandied about a lot, yet few know what it really means.  Just this past holiday season, we enjoyed our annual viewing of Elf…I mean we didn’t want to be cotton-headed ninny muggins after all.  Interestingly, towards the end of the movie, a children’s writer {aka the angry elf} says not to write about farm animals because there were so many other stories like that on the market.  He likened them to “white noise.”

Let’s take a step back…white noise is a combination of sound from all points on the sound spectrum.   In other words, white noise is a type of noise that is produced by combining sounds of all different frequencies together. The purpose is to create a masking sound to drown out unwanted noises.  As How Stuff Works explains it:

Let’s say two people are talking at the same time. Your brain can normally “pick out” one of the two voices and actually listen to it and understand it. If three people are talking simultaneously, your brain can probably still pick out one voice. However, if 1,000 people are talking simultaneously, there is no way that your brain can pick out one voice. It turns out that 1,000 people talking together sounds a lot like white noise. So when you turn on a fan to create white noise, you are essentially creating a source of 1,000 voices. The voice next-door makes it 1,001 voices, and your brain can’t pick it out any more.

So, back to our Elf reference…is writing a story about animals among many other stories of animals like white noise?  Yes and no.

  • Yes.  Like white noise is a combination of sound and is still sound, so is an animal story among other animal stories.
  • No.  White noise is meant to overcome unwanted noise.  So, an animal story among other animal stories just blends in- it doe snot cover or overcome anything.

All that to say white noise is an oft-misused term, or at the very least an uninformed one.

 

I used to hear the term white noise ans think of static, of some unwanted noise humming and buzzing around my ears, like an annoying pest that just won’t go away.  I would connote the too-loud TV my grandparents played as I tried to do something else, anything else.  I would think of the symphony, or rather disharmony, of my 3 children all talking to or crying at me simultaneously…essentially, I would think of auditory overload.  It was certainly not a happy connotation in that is obviously held so many pejorative feelings for me.  I clearly am one who is sensitive to noise, which ironically makes me a great candidate for white noise.

It behooves us to take a step back and ask a few questions…what is white noise?  Why on earth would I want to add noise to my life?  Who actually uses it on purpose and in what format?

What is White Noise?

In its broadest sense, white noise is like white color. Just as white color is made up of every color in the spectrum, so white noise is made up of thousands of frequencies, all in equal amounts. This is why white noise is considered “unstructured sound.” Structured sound – voices, music – communicates information using specific frequencies. Because unstructured sound communicates nothing, our minds quickly tune it out.

Because it’s unstructured sound, it makes it much more difficult for our minds to discern individual words and other structured sounds. To put it another way, white noise “fills in” the sound spectrum.

 Why Use White Noise?

It’s one of those funny counter-intuitive things: noise combats noise.  It’s not as if they compete and one emerges victoriously- rather, the very nature of white noise makes it superior before the competition even begins.  As stated above, white noise is unstructured, and it is this unstructured sound that helps our brains tune out other sound.  Instead of focusing on song lyrics or nearby conversations, our minds ignore that sound and are more able to focus on other tasks.  This is helpful when working among a group of people, such as in a row of cubicles, or even when trying to fall asleep.  Even more important, though, this ability to mask other sounds is crucial for facilities needing privacy, such as a doctor’s office, or confidentiality, such as a government or military building.

How Do You Use White Noise?

Portable sound machines are ideal because they can literally go anywhere.

White noise comes in a variety of applications, dependent upon your needs.  As I am a work from home mom, I tend toward phone apps, free generators, and portable sound machines.  However, the corporate world needs a larger version.

  1. White Noise app on your phone.  Many phones, such as iPhones, come with white noise apps that are ideal for being on the road.
  2. White Noise Generator.  This free white noise generator gives you a feel and sense of white noise and nature sounds.  It’s ideal for desktop use and it customizable.
  3. White Noise Machine, aka Sound Machine.  Sound machines can be used for individuals at home or in the office.  They produce a myriad of white noise options, are adjustable, and offer a host of features, such as back-lit clocks, alarms, and even jet lag reduction.
  4. Sound Masking Systems.  Systems are designed for multiple users, say in an open office, a waiting room, or any structure that houses more than 1 or 2 workers.  Speakers are placed within the ceiling tiles and emit low-level white noise to serve as background sound to reduce distractions in an office or achieve speech privacy.

White noise is a resource that can be used for any number of users in any environment that needs speech privacy.

 

When Noise Strikes at Home

I frequently write about the woes of office noise, and how distracted workers are.  It’s a real problem that costs businesses hundreds of billions of dollars.  However, today I’m going to chat about a real problem that has cost parents hundreds of hours of sleep.  That’s right- sometimes our “noisy co-workers” live right beneath our own roof and bear our names.  Kids really can ruin a good sleep, especially our own.  I find this true even as my kids get older.  I used to think that when my babies got older and I didn’t have to get up with them to nurse, I’d get better sleep.  Mostly, that is true.  What has gotten worse is their own play time noise.  Now that they’ve given up naps, my own nap time while the baby sleeps is massively in danger.

Sound Machines

Nature sounds can be relaxing and peaceful for a good night of sleep and restorative naps.

Just this past weekend, I put on a movie for the older two so the baby and I could get a good snooze.  All was well until the movie ended.  Then, my children somehow turned into elephants as they thundered through the house, evidently playing the loudest game of hide and go seek ever created.  Two thoughts:

  1. Way to go, guys, for finding something to do while Mommy was napping.
  2. Dang it, guys, find something quieter.

There must be a way for the kids to have their fun and for Mommy and baby t0 be able to sleep through it…or at the very least, baby.  I submit to you the sound machine.  While I will be the first to admit that sound machines don’t drown out every noise, they sure go a long way in helping you tune out annoying activities that seem to be diametrically opposed to good rest.  You can choose nature sounds or typical white noise, and either way you’ll hear that instead of all the stomping and horse play.  Plus, with a little white noise, you can rest assured that baby is oblivious to it all, too.

The Art of Sound Masking

Two cubicles down, the guy is making his infamous sales pitch…across the row, Chatty Cathy is detailing her relationship with a colleague…next”door”, gal keeps getting texts and dings on her computer from who knows where, but possibly every social media outlet accessible….it all adds up to amused distraction and loss of focus.    And those of us with less patience find ourselves more irritated than amused, and we all struggle to stay productive.  That’s where sound masking made an appearance- from Roman fountains drowning out street noise to sound masking systems via speakers, for generations, we have used noise to counteract unwanted noise.  Unlike erratic, attention-pulling natural noise, white noise is structured and uniform.  It is in direct contrast with typical noise by its very nature, and thus is very useful in combating unwanted noise.

2 Benefits of Sound Masking

The Sonet is the most effective means of sound masking as far as individual machines go.

There are 2 main benefits of using white noise when masking sound.  White noise helps achieve speech privacy, which accomplishes two major things:

  1. Speech privacy helps reduce distractions.  The average worker is distracted more than 2 hours every day.  This makes them both unproductive and quite costly to employers.  Distraction adds up to about $600 billion per year for businesses.
  2. Speech privacy provides confidentiality.  This is a great resource for board rooms or anywhere that hosts conversations with sensitive information.

2 Applications of Sound Masking

The idea is that with background noise, people can tune out more bothersome noise, such as typical office noise or even street noise.  This background noise is called sound masking.  There are two main ways to sound mask:

  1. Sound masking system. Systems like the VoiceArrest are ideal for larger areas, such as corporate buildings, medical facilities, or government buildings.  Speakers are placed directly within the ceiling tiles and thus uniformly deliver low-level white noise to larger areas through well-placed zones.
  2. Sound machines.  Individual desktop or bedside sound machines, or white noise generators, are effective for individuals, such as those in cubicles or small offices.  While they use white noise just like a system does, machines only have a small speaker per se and therefore don’t carry as far.
As you can see, white noise in its various applications has 2 wonderful benefits: a reduction of distractions and the establishment of privacy.

The Many Uses of White Noise

Sound machines have been great for our family.  We started using them for our kids when they were babies to help them sleep through noise.  We ended up overseas in a tiny apartment, so close quarters were more like cramped quarters and every noise reverberated throughout it.  Thus, we used them in bedrooms.  Then, I started working from home and used  my trusty sound machine to tune out distractions.  I figured I had exhausted most normal uses for white noise.  And maybe I have- in terms of normal anyway.

White Noise for Home Delivery

A portable sound machine is ideal since it allows you to take it anywhere.

Last month a very dear friend of mine had her third child.    Crazy woman decided to go for her second natural home delivery.  This is tricky when labor takes place in the middle of the night when older siblings are supposed to be sleeping.  My friend told me that once again, white noise had triumphed.  I kid you not, she pushed a 9lb 4oz baby out naturally and her kids slept through it!

Like me, this friend of mine had lived overseas in a tiny apartment with multiple small children’babies, so she and I had learned to use white noise together.  Unlike me, though, she opted for natural home deliveries.  My last delivery was natural, not by choice, and I was anything but quiet.  Thus, I am very impressed with our trusty sound machines once again!  Our kids’ sleep is precious to us, so whatever it takes to keep them sleeping peacefully so they can wake up refreshed is worth it.  Sound machines are an easy way to achieve that, or so we’ve learned.

All this to say that white noise has a new application for a new noisy situation: natural home delivery.  For those of you looking to deliver at home, with other children present, you might consider a sound machine in case they stay at home during the actual delivery.

When we had our first baby, I quickly became a fan of my fan {pun intended}.  I found that my ultra-social baby could hear the carpet crunch.  Seriously.  If something fun was going on, she did not want to miss it.  That said, I found myself tip-toeing around during nap time and at night.  I would cringe when the phone rang, and Lord forbid if someone unexpected came by and the dog started barking!  Thus, I found a floor fan down in the basement, blew it off, plugged it in, and turned it on for sleep times.

Six years later, I use a sound machine and not a fan.  My friends ask me why.  So, here goes.  Basically, both a fan and a sound machine function on the basis of white noise, the idea that a consistent hum helps the brain tune out unwanted noise.  Here are three simple reasons I prefer a sound machine.

This portable sound machine fits in your hand and comes with plug adapters for other countriesFans have cords that can be tripped on or, horribly, be wrapped around children’s necks.

  • Fans have cords, which can trip or get tangled around children.
  • Fans are big and bulky and change the aesthetic feel of the room.
  • Fans move dust mites, which can be problematic for allergies.

In contrast:

  • Sound machines do have cords, but can be battery-run as well, thus avoiding potential danger.
  • Sound machines are small and desktop and barely noticed in any room.
  • Sound machines do not affect allergies in that they do not move air.
Thus, since having children, we switched to safer, just as effective sound machines.  Our kids can’t get caught up in the cords and if they have allergies, won’t be affected.  Plus, when we’re on the road, or just napping the baby at someone else’s house, a portable sound machine is so much easier to take with us.

 

There are many times I just don’t feel that motivated to work.  My mind wanders of its own accord, so every time a Facebook, twitter, or email notification pops up, I minimize my work screen just as quickly.  Who knows- maybe a friend just had  a baby, or maybe someone just pinned something I can’t live without seeing?  You don’t want to miss those life changers.  But as much as I love my internet wanderings, there are times I need to be productive and simply can’t!  I am not alone- a friend posted this on Facebook a few days ago:

Saying goodbye to all productivity for the remainder of the day…
The internet is a giant, shiny object.

The hard thing about computers is that they are as much of a curse as they are a blessing.  We need them to work, but they can be a huge time suck, too.  I’ll be the first to say that we could discipline ourselves more by closing certain windows or only checking social media at specific times.  However, this isn’t always realistic since some people need social media for work.

Interestingly, it’s actually not internet mischief that cause the most distractions.  As much as people blame Facebook, usually it’s office noise, such as conversations, that eat up our time.  We all waste about 2 hours every day!  So, this is where speech privacy comes in to play.  Rather than shut off the internet or drown out every noisy distraction at work, all you really need to do is achieve speech privacy.  Speech privacy is accomplished when conversation has been rendered unintelligible {note the difference between unintelligible and unintelligent}.  It’s like when you’re on an airplane and even though people are still talking around you, you have to physically move to actually understand them.  When conversations and office noise are masked like this, the brain is able to stay focused longer and is less likely to look for distractions.

Okay, you get it….but how can you do this at work?  The answer is simple: sound masking.  Fear not, I said sound masking, not jet engine installation.  With significantly less sound, a sound masking system accomplishes the same thing via white noise so workers can stay focused, less distracted, and less likely to immerse ourselves in shiny objects.