Sleepless in San Francisco: City Traffic Noise Doesn't Exactly Help

The Department of Public Health has found that the traffic noise pollution in SOMA, followed closely by the Civic Center/Tenderloin area, the Western Addition and Chinatown is some of the worst in the city. The constant humming is driving one in six of us into an early grave. Stressed out, depressed, unable to sleep at night, blood pressure through the roof? Sound familiar? The Department hopes to use the findings to shape future building codes and policy. But they're hardly the first ones to study the white noise phenomenon. Back in 2001, New York researchers found that children may suffer the worst -- especially girls. "They become less motivated, presumably from the sense of helplessness that can develop from noise they couldn't control," said environmental stress expert Gary Evans. And it's not just that constant idle hybrid hum interrupting your REM cycle -- there's noisy new construction to be contended with, not to mention all those pesky sirens. (T-loin, we're lookin' at you, and all those kids crammed in your studio apartments.)
S.F. Traffic Noise Risks Health in 1 of 6 [SF Gate]
Researchers Find Daily Traffic Noise Harms the Health and Well-Being of Children [Science Daily]For more stories from Curbed SF, go to sf.curbed.com.