Why scheduling quiet time every day is good for your health
After air pollution, road, rail and air traffic noise is the second most important cause of ill health in western Europe, according to the
World Health Organisation
(WHO). Industry, construction, public works and neighbourhood noise all add to what it calls 'environmental noise'.
Heart attack
,
stroke
, reduced cognitive performance in children, severe annoyance and sleep disturbance can result from prolonged exposure to such noise, according to the WHO.
It is estimated to cause 12,000 premature deaths, and to contribute to 48,000 new cases of heart disease in Europe every year, says the organisation.
READ MORE
Noise is a health problem for at least one in five EU citizens, according to the
European Commission
. Yikes.
It's hard for urban dwellers to avoid noise, but they are not the only ones affected. In areas affected by noise, the proportion of people 'highly annoyed' by noise is greater in rural areas than noisy urban areas, according to the
European Environment Agency
.
This suggests that unnatural sound, such as wind turbines, perhaps, is more annoying in the context of rural areas and perhaps masks other, more beneficial, natural sounds, according to the 2016 Quiet Areas in Europe report by the Agency.
The Environmental Noise Directive is the main EU law for noise pollution. It requires countries to publish noise maps and action plans every five years. It isn't prescriptive about noise limits or mitigations, however. That's for member states to decide for themselves.
Action will have to be ramped up if the number of people affected by transport noise is to be reduced by its target of 30 per cent by 2030, says the European Commission.
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Dublin Airport noise could cause heart issues for nearly 17,000 people living nearby
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One action is identifying and preserving areas where there is good environmental noise quality.
This kind of tranquillity is often found where there is vegetation, low levels of man-made sounds and the dominance of natural sounds, according to the Quiet Areas report. The visual intrusion of man-made structures and buildings into an otherwise perceived natural landscape can also reduce the sense of tranquillity.
Ireland ranked fourth in EU countries where people living in cities of more than 50,000 inhabitants had access to quiet areas within a one-hour drive, according to the report. Those living in Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg had the least access to quiet areas.
It's important for all of us to get respite from noise pollution and the Environmental Noise Directive allows for the designation and protection of quiet areas.
Limerick City and County Council
has some areas in mind. Since 2020 Limerick has been inviting its citizens to use the free Hush City app to record information on areas in the city and county where they find peace and tranquillity. This information is then available to policymakers, and it shows others where they can find peace and quiet too.
As part of Limerick's Noise Action Plan 2024-2028, the council will assess sound in parks and other green spaces in Adare, Newcastle West, Croom and Abbeyfeale, gathering supportive evidence to have them officially designated as Quiet Areas.
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'Like living near a helicopter': Residents fed up at takeaway delivery drones buzzing over their homes
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Limerick was ranked 'excellent' by the
Environmental Protection Agency
for its 2023 noise action plan progress report. The city and county have been using low-noise road surfaces, introducing traffic calming to reduce speeds, conducting noise monitoring surveys and prioritising cycling and walking routes.
Noise is about culture and respect among people too. In some areas of Germany, you wouldn't dream of mowing your grass or cutting hedges between 1pm and 3pm as it is typical for older generations to sleep at this time. If you haven't stopped work, you will likely get a gentle reminder from a neighbour to do so. It's a two-way street, where neighbours assure each other some quiet time every day.
So whether it's your phone on speaker on public transport, your strimmer going on a Sunday morning, or your dog barking all day, spare a thought for those around you. Don't make noise, make peace.
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Irish Times
8 hours ago
- Irish Times
‘Once somebody shares the fact they are thinking about suicide, there's a connection to life'
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Over those five years, the proportion of deaths of people by suicide for males remained broadly similar, at about eight in 10, with the highest-risk age range in 2021 being 50-54 years. READ MORE Psychotherapist Mark Herman. A €2 million investment in new counselling supports for men recently announced by the Department of Health is aimed at helping to break the silence. Championed by the Minister of State with responsibility for mental health, Mary Butler , this initiative will be accompanied by a public campaign and promotion through GPs from the start of September. She has stressed that this is 'recurring funding', for measures that include more than 15,000 free counselling sessions to men each year. However, accessibility and affordability are not the only barriers to men seeking any kind of talk therapy. Butler's reference to the importance of men's 'specific needs and preferences' being taken into account when designing tailored supports acknowledges that, and there will be efforts to reduce stigma. As the health and wellbeing manager with the Irish Men's Sheds Association ( ), Rebecca McLaughlin, says: 'I wish it were as simple as the movies 'If you build it, they will come'.' A clinical psychotherapist by training, she researched the challenges and barriers to older men engaging with counselling and therapy for her master's degree. 'Even just a few generations apart, men present with very different views and perspectives, whether it's on masculinity, the male role, gender, stigma and also engagements like therapy,' she says. Yet, consistent among men both young and old is a tendency to believe that seeking help challenges their masculine identity. Men of all ages present later and with more acute symptoms to mental health services. The gender split among those attending Herman's private psychotherapy practice in north Dublin is the opposite of the national trend, with about two-thirds of his clients being male. He suggests that men may gravitate towards a male counsellor, just as women may seek a female counsellor – in which case women will have a lot more choice. A 2018 survey by the Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy showed its membership to be 78 per cent female. [ Walking football: 'Look around. The lads are buzzing before we even get out on the pitch' Opens in new window ] 'I think there is some kind of a comfort in talking to a man, in way of engagement but also in understanding of men's issues,' says Herman. Yet it often still takes a woman to get a male client in the door. She may be his mother, partner, sister or, in cases of bereavement, a daughter. 'About half of my male clients seem to arrive by some kind of 'proxy',' he explains. A woman in the client's life has encouraged him, or perhaps laid down an ultimatum, to seek help. 'Maybe some of those women have been to therapy themselves. It's good; it's a moving forward of that influencing.' The woman may be the one to engage initially with Herman, who must have contact from the man before anything is set up. Tea and biscuit time at the Irish Men's Sheds Association 'I need to hear what he's looking for, and I need to make sure he's there of his own free will.' However, Herman can identify personally with this female nudging towards talk therapy. 'My wife, Maria, encouraged me to consider counselling for years, before my problems finally came to a head and I couldn't sidestep them any longer. I remember being reluctant, but also knowing I probably should give it a chance. 'Just a couple of sessions', I told myself...' Sharing with somebody who is non-judgmental brings not only relief but also clarity. 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Sharing with somebody who is non-judgmental brings not only relief but also clarity. A skilled listener can ask questions that will help the person move themselves forward. 'It's not just talk. It's also taking small steps,' says Herman. health and wellbeing manager Rebecca McLaughlin with a member at the Irish Men's Sheds Association In the thriving, 450-plus men's sheds on this island, McLaughlin sees older men 'upturning all the traditional negative stereotypes applied to them', such as 'men are hard to reach' and 'men don't talk'. 'What we experience is actually sharing and talking about health issues and problems,' she says. But, crucially, this is done 'shoulder to shoulder' in the course of another activity, such as woodwork, gardening or some other community project. 'Each shed is run autonomously and has its own unique mix of three ingredients: people, place and purpose. Connection is the common factor – and a kettle, of course.' [ New €1m fund for men's sheds to help with heating and insurance Opens in new window ] The predominantly 60-years-plus age group drawn to the sheds grew up in a more entrenched culture of masculine silence around emotions. There is a huge leap from that to being expected to go into a room with a stranger and open up about their feeling, McLaughlin points out. In her 'wraparound' work with men's sheds to facilitate workshops and other wellbeing initiatives, she has found that even the label 'mental' health can be off-putting. Some older men have profoundly negative associations with the word, due to social, cultural and historical conditioning. To them it suggests, 'there's something wrong with you,' she says. 'You were locked away; you were sent off; it was silence.' Yet, for instance, a programme dealing with loss, devised post-Covid in conjunction with the Irish Hospice Foundation, has proved very popular. 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Irish Times
16 hours ago
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Heather Humphreys and Seán Kelly presidential face-off expected as Fine Gael reopens nominations
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Irish Times
19 hours ago
- Irish Times
‘I have no expectations': Ukrainian scepticism grows amid push for peace
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Nobody wants peace more than we do, but we cannot sign a deal which means that in a few years Russian forces continue and more people die. There must be a lot of security guarantees.' If I had to choose between being captured again and dying, I would choose death in one second — Captain Yulian Pylypei None of the proposals – including Trump's reported promise of 'Article five-like guarantees', Steve Witkoff's claim that Russia will 'enshrine in law' a promise not to attack again, and talk of a European multinational force – convince Pylypei. 'All of them promised to protect us in the Budapest Memorandum in 1994, but Russia invaded us and nobody moved. We are smarter than in 1994. We must be very careful.' Following Russian president Vladimir Putin's cue, Trump now wants to skip the ceasefire stage and move instead to a final peace agreement. Zelenskiy wants Russian attacks to stop during negotiations. In the 24 hours from Sunday to Monday, Russia launched 140 drones and fired four missiles at Ukraine, killing 10 people , including an infant and a teenager. Emergency workers carry a body bag at the site of a Russian strike on a residential area in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on Monday. Photograph: EPA Pylypei trained for 13 months with the US Marine Corps. The Russians were determined to make him confess to being a CIA agent. 'I just laughed,' he says. 'They were asking strange things about laboratories (Russian propaganda claimed the US ran biological and chemical warfare labs in Ukraine). I said, 'Are you guys serious? What are you talking about?'. 'Then they wanted me to say I'd been ordered to kill civilians . . . Psychologically, it was very hard. If I had to choose between being captured again and dying, I would choose death in one second.' Love of life, his country and his wife Khrystyna kept him alive in prison, Pylypei says. 'In captivity, every day you ask, 'How can this be happening in the 21st century, in Europe?'. You want to scream, 'Hey world, what is wrong with you? Are you serious? We can cure cancer and we are still doing this?'.' [ Eastern Ukraine mapped: Vladimir Putin demands territory to end Russia's war Opens in new window ] Dr Andru worries about her fiance, a soldier in Kramatorsk, one of the cities in eastern Ukraine which Putin says must be surrendered in exchange for peace. 'It's hard for me to be here and wait,' she says. 'There is a lot of pain and sometimes you feel hopeless. I understand how my patients feel.' Attempted suicides among civilians shot up in recent months. Several of Pylypei's comrades tried to take their own lives in prison. 'I told my guys, 'Hey bro', don't give up. Everything has a beginning and an end. The only question is when. Maybe tomorrow, maybe in a year or two, but it will end'.' Except for six months in solitary confinement, Pylypei was with other Ukrainians in cramped, overcrowded cells. 'I set in my mind, 'This is your battlefield. You have to fight. You have to resist. You must exercise even if you have no strength. Push-ups. Stretching. Sit-ups. Stay ready and strong'. Every morning and every evening I told the others, 'We are one day closer to home'. I taught them English.' Pylypei and Andru agree that unjust suffering is the most profound cause of war trauma. Yet both claim to be optimistic. 'I am 100 per cent optimistic for the future,' says Pylypei. 'Everything will be okay. Look around at this hospital, at this city, this country. After everything that happened to me, I am 100 per cent certain everything will be okay. We must defend the country and stay strong and rebuild it and save it for our children and our children's children. That is what is going to happen.'
