Background Noise

I’m staying at a hotel in Ottawa, during March Break. Hundreds, maybe thousands of kids are on the road with their parents taking advantage of the time off to do family things. I can hear them running up and down the halls, laughing and generally having a great time. I think it’s great, I have fond memories of doing the exact same thing on family trips.

At some point, the kids must have been called back to their rooms because it got really quiet.

Too quiet…

I’m one of those people that like a little bit of background noise when trying to sleep. Usually the best you can do while travelling is to turn on the AC fan but the one in this room is unusually quiet. Running water is not very eco-friendly, playing music is too distracting and the kids have gone to bed.

I don’t usually pay too much attention to the clock radios in hotel rooms as I prefer to count on my iPhone to wake me up. However, upon closer inspection, I noticed a series of buttons on top of the radio. One was called Nature Sounds. Pushing it gave me some surf, wind and subtle bird sounds… perfect.

Found this article on the National Sleep Foundation’s site:

White noise works by reducing the difference between background sounds and a “peak” sound, like a door slamming, giving you a better chance to sleep through it undisturbed. If you have difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, creating a constant ambient sound could help mask activity from inside and outside the house.