Living near heavy traffic increases risks of dementia.

EXTRACT FROM THE HINDU-National Newspaper-LONDON: January 05, 2017 22:13 IST Updated: January 05, 2017 22:13 IST 

WHO estimates the number of people with dementia in 2015 at 47.5 million, a number that is rising as life expectancy increases? 

People who live near roads laden with heavy traffic face a higher risk of developing dementia than those living further away, possibly because pollutants get into their brains via the blood stream, according to researchers in Canada.

A study in The Lancet medical journal found that people who lived within 50 metres of high-traffic roads had a seven per cent higher chance of developing dementia compared to those who lived more than 300 metres away from busy roadways.

“Air pollutants can get into the blood stream and lead to inflammation, which is linked with cardiovascular disease and possibly other conditions such as diabetes. This study suggests air pollutants that can get into the brain via the blood stream can lead to neurological problems,” said Ray Copes, an environmental and occupational health expert at Public Health Ontario (PHO) who conducted the study with colleagues from Canada’s Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences.

Brain disease

Dementia is caused by brain diseases, most commonly Alzheimer’s disease, which result in the loss of brain cells and affect memory, thinking, behavior, navigational and spatial abilities and the ability to perform everyday activities.

The World Health Organization estimates the number of people with dementia in 2015 at 47.5 million, and that total is rising rapidly as life expectancy increases and societies age. The incurable condition is a leading cause of disability and dependency, and is starting to overtake heart disease as a cause of death in some developed countries. Independent experts said the Canadian study had important implications for public health around the world. Tom Dening of the Centre for Old Age and Dementia at Britain’s Nottingham University said the findings were “interesting and provocative”.

“It is unlikely that Ontario has the worst air quality in the world, so the risks might be even greater in cities that are habitually wrapped in smog,” he said. . — Reuters.

It’s happening everywhere, even in India, even in our living spaces and its time to figure out this major health disease.

DEMENTIA-caused due to air pollution and steady growth of community noise.

What the Wikipedia says about this urban or community noise: Noise pollution or noise disturbance is the disturbing or excessive noise that may harm the activity or balance of human or animal life. The source of most outdoor noise worldwide is mainly caused by machines and transportation systems, motor vehicles, aircraft, and trains.^[1][2] Outdoor noise is summarized by the word environmental noise. Poor urban planning may give rise to noise pollution, since side-by-side industrial and residential buildings can result in noise pollution in the residential areas. Documented problems associated with urban noise go back as far as Ancient Rome.

WE ENTER HERE…..

Noise is everywhere. It surrounds and, at times, overwhelms us. Some are better at adapting to a noisy city life than others. Some consider the noise a minor nuisance, if they consider it a nuisance at all. Then there are those of us who lose a little piece of sanity in the wake of every honking horn and heart-stopping car backfire. We know noise is a problem in our cities, but just how big a problem is it?

Noise is generally defined as unwanted sound. That’s straightforward enough, but such a definition does, in a way, understate the seriousness of noise as a social problem. Noise pollution is a form of air pollution, making it a threat to health and wellbeing.

Our towns and cities have to balance providing mobility, which enables economic growth and social interaction, with maintaining quality of life, in the form of reduced traffic congestion, atmospheric pollution and noise.

We at Apocalypse Acoustic Science Corp are specialized experts for community and Urban Noise Abatement providing affordable solutions in Architectural, Building, Industrial and Corporate Acoustics.

Our key focus areas:

·         To Provide Techniques to reduce traffic noise from the source, support to focus on innovative solutions.

·         To Provide Techniques to reduce machinery noise through noise barriers with a focus on integrated solutions for Industries and other major noise generators.

·         To Reducing noise from the source, noise isolation for homes and living spaces at affordable prices.

·         To Provide Noise measurements with health impact on Humans through Noise Mapping or Sound Modelling.

·         Providing Socio-economic assessments with affordable solutions for noise abatement.

·         Start up a monitoring body in partnership with the Government of India to implement stricter legislative noise control measures.

·         Communication and agenda setting

·         Data collection, analysis and smart use of data for planning

·         Fundraising for establishing this Monitoring Body.

Today a complex problem with many elements is compounded by ever-increasing levels of traffic. The technology solutions have to consider all elements and the widely differing needs of many different types of travelers. Apocalypse Acoustic Sciences Corp provides end to end solutions for community and urban noise, architectural acoustics, room acoustics, building acoustics, electro acoustics, industrial acoustics, noise and vibration control, traffic and mobility management solutions for the urban environment which are based on common protocols and open standards. The results are highly future-proofed, scalable and simple to deploy available at indianized pricing-INR. 

Apocalypse Acoustics Inc-Threshold of Salvation.                                                              Copyright 2017.

Visit us at www.apocalypseindia.com or reach us at +919395333255 or 

mail us at apocalypse@mail.org

Why Silence Is So Good For Your Brain

In a loud and distracting world, finding pockets of stillness can benefit your brain and body. Here are four science-backed reasons why.

We live in a loud and distracting world, where silence is increasingly difficult to come by -- and that may be negatively affecting our health.
In fact, a 2011 World Health Organization report called noise pollution a "modern plague," concluding that "there is overwhelming evidence that exposure to environmental noise has adverse effects on the health of the population."
We're constantly filling our ears with music, TV and radio news, podcasts and, of course, the multitude of sounds that we create nonstop in our own heads. Think about it: How many moments each day do you spend in total silence? The answer is probably very few.
As our internal and external environments become louder and louder, more people are beginning to seek out silence, whether through a practice of sitting quietly for 10 minutes every morning or heading off to a 10-day silent retreat.
Inspired to go find some peace and quiet? Here are four science-backed ways that silence is good for your brain -- and how making time for it can make you feel less stressed, more focused and more creative. 
1. Silence relieves stress and tension. 
Florence Nightingale, the 19th century British nurse and social activist, once wrote that “Unnecessary noise is the most cruel absence of care that can be inflicted on sick or well.” Nightgale argued that needless sounds could cause distress, sleep loss and alarm for recovering patients.
It turns out that noise pollution has been found to lead to high blood pressure and heart attacks, as well as impairing hearing and overall health. Loud noises raise stress levels by activating the brain's amygdala and causing the release of the stress hormone cortisol, according to research.
An unpublished 2004 paper by environmental psychologist Dr. Craig Zimring suggests that higher noise levels in neonatal intensive care units led to elevated blood pressure, increased heart rates and disrupted patient sleep patterns. 
Just as too much noise can cause stress and tension, research has found that silence has the opposite effect, releasing tension in the brain and body.
A 2006 study published in the journal Heart found two minutes of silence to be more relaxing than listening to "relaxing" music, based on changes in blood pressure and blood circulation in the brain.
2. Silence replenishes our mental resources.
In our everyday lives, sensory input is being thrown at us from every angle. When we can finally get away from these sonic disruptions, our brains' attention centers have the opportunity to restore themselves.
The ceaseless attentional demands of modern life put a significant burden on the prefrontal cortex of the brain, which is involved in high-order thinking, decision-making and problem-solving.
As a result, our attentional resources become drained. When those attention resources are depleted, we become distracted and mentally fatigued, and may struggle to focus, solve problems and come up with new ideas.
But according to attention restoration theory, the brain can restore its finite cognitive resources when we're in environments with lower levels of sensory input than usual. In silence -- for instance, the quiet stillness you find when walking alone in nature -- the brain can let down its sensory guard, so to speak.
3. In silence, we can tap into the brain's default mode network. 
The default mode network of the brain is activated when we engage in what scientists refer to as "self-generated cognition," such as daydreaming, meditating, fantasizing about the future or just letting our minds wander.
When the brain is idle and disengaged from external stimuli, we can finally tap into our inner stream of thoughts, emotions, memories and ideas. Engaging this network helps us to make meaning out of our experiences, empathize with others, be more creative and reflect on our own mental and emotional states.
In order to do this, it's necessary to break away from the distractions that keep us lingering on the shallow surfaces of the mind. Silence is one way of getting there.
Default mode activity helps us think deeply and creatively. As Herman Melville once wrote, "All profound things and emotions of things are preceded and attended by silence."
4. Getting quiet can regenerate brain cells.
Silence can quite literally grow the brain.
A 2013 study on mice, published in the journal Brain, Structure, and Function, involved comparing the effects of ambient noise, white noise, pup calls and silence on the rodents' brains. Although the researchers intended to use silence as a control in the study, they found that two hours of silence daily led to the development of new cells in the hippocampus, a key brain region associated with learning, memory and emotion. 
While preliminary, the findings suggested that silence could be therapeutic for conditions like depression and Alzheimer's, which are associated with decreased rates of neuron regeneration in the hippocampus.

Originally Posted by Carolyn Gregoire Senior Writer, The Huffington Post.
Re-posted by Apocalypse Acoustics Inc. May 2016.

For any concerns regarding speech privacy, noise isolation, vibration control call us at +919395333255 or mail us at apocalypse@mail.org
 

12 Ways Noise Affects Worker Well-being And Productivity.

 Very Very Good Informative Article-Go Through It. Thank You.

http://resonics.co.uk/12-ways-noise-affects-employee-wellbeing-health-productivity/

What is Reverberation by Apocalypse Acoustics Part Two.

What is Reverberation?

 

Technically it is the time taken for noise to stop after the noise source has ceased, measured in milliseconds

With a relatively dead room (a room with a short reverberation time) the noise (words) created by the spoken sentence become inaudible relatively quickly, allowing the response to be heard and a further question asked, with relatively ease. 

However in a live room (a room with a higher reverberation time) this becomes a much more difficult task to carry out. The sound of the previous word over laps the sound of the next word and the sound of the first sentence over laps the sounds within the second sentence and so on and so forth. This means the examples from above would sound more like. (Where capital words express more clearly heard word)

• WHAT on earth is REVERBERATION TIME? 
• How do I TREAT it? 
• The time for NOISE to Stop…… 
• Do you get the idea. 

It is like having a conversation in a round, like when you sang nursery songs as a child.

However high reverberation time isn’t always a bad thing, if you are Gregorian monk or in a vocal group, a longer reverberation time is desired as it produces a more appealing and warm sound. 

This provides a much desired atmosphere to listen or to record in. 

Producing music in a dead room for this type of activity would really take away from the atmosphere and kill the mood and ambiance trying to be achieved, as the notes world die very quickly and make the sound appear very flat.

These were only some of the Points we pondered and gave a brief summary of making something plain or intelligible about reverberation.

Reverberation is a elaborated, detailed subject which needs much lucidity and clearness.

For technicalities please do contact us at apocalypse@mail.org or call us at +919395333255.

Visit us at www.apocalypseindia.com

What is Reverberation by Apocalypse Acoustics Part One

What is Reverberation???

Reverberation is another name for what most people know and understand as echo. 

The following analogy explains what reverberation is quite concisely without getting overly technical.

If you press the accelerator pedal of a car, the car accelerates to a certain speed. If the road is smooth and level the speed will remain constant. With a constant force on the accelerator, the engine produces enough horse power to overcome frictional and aerodynamic losses and maintain a steady and even speed, or steady state condition. If you take your foot of the off the accelerator, the car will gradually slow, and come to a stop.

Sound within a room acts similarly to this. When a loudspeaker is turned, it emits noise into the room that quickly grows to a certain level. This level is the steady state or equilibrium point at which the sound energy radiated from the loudspeaker is enough to over come loses in the air and at the room boundaries. A greater sound energy radiated from the loudspeaker will result in a higher equilibrium level, whereas less energy to the loudspeaker will result in a lower equilibrium level. If you push your foot flat to the floor in the car the equilibrium or speed will be much faster, than those Sunday drivers who only slightly depress the accelerator pedal.

When the loudspeaker is turned off, it takes a finite length of time for the sound level in the room to decay to inaudibility. This means there is an exact amount of time from when the loudspeaker is turned off until the sound from the speaker cannot be heard.

For most environments such as conference rooms, classrooms, sports halls, offices and the typical working environment or public space, the longer the time between the noise source stopping and the noise becoming inaudible, the worse the acoustic environment is perceived. This is because a lot of words and noises overlap one an another.

You can say, 

” What on earth is reverberation time? 

How do I treat it.?

” In a room with high absorption or with few reflections the sound dies immediately or very quickly allowing Us to reply with the right answers.

Please Refer Part Two of this Resource, What is Reverberation?

For Any Clarifications call us at +919395333255 or Email us at apocalypse@mail.org

Visit us at www.apocalypseindia.com