ProtocolSoundSupported evidence

Quiet Bedroom

Getting the noise floor of the room you sleep in down to where it stops fragmenting sleep — sources, seals, glazing, then masking.

A measurement, then a retrofitPublished July 24, 2026 · Last reviewed July 24, 2026

Overview

Night noise fragments sleep without necessarily waking you, which is why the problem is easy to miss and hard to self-diagnose. The evidence base is solid on the exposure side: WHO's 2018 environmental noise guidelines set night-time targets of 45 dB for road traffic, 44 dB for rail, and 40 dB for aircraft, drawn from a systematic review of noise and sleep. That research measures transportation noise outside dwellings, not the hum of your own air handler, and it cannot tell you how much a specific retrofit will improve your sleep. So measure your room before buying anything, and fix sources in order of cost.

Evidence level

Supported. Useful evidence exists, but outcomes or dosing vary. How Compound evaluates evidence

Sources

Method

Measure the room overnight with a sound level meter or a calibrated phone app. Note both the steady floor and the peaks that wake you.

Identify the dominant source before spending: exterior traffic, HVAC, plumbing, appliances, or another person.

Seal the leaks first. Door undercuts, gaps, and back-to-back outlets pass more sound than the wall does — weatherstripping and a door sweep are the cheapest real gain available.

For mechanical noise: move equipment off the bedroom wall, upsize returns, and line the ducts. This beats any product you can buy.

For exterior noise: laminated glass and a larger air gap outperform simply adding another pane.

Mask what remains with steady broadband sound. Masking covers intermittent noise; it does not remove it, and it is the last step rather than the first.

Re-measure after each change and stop when the peaks that used to wake you are gone.

Related Protocols

SleepEstablished

Sleep Consistency

Same wake time, same bedtime, every day — the cheapest sleep intervention, and the one with consensus behind it.

Daily, ongoing

LightSupported

Morning Light Exposure

Bright light early in the day, used to anchor circadian timing — the foundation the rest of the sleep stack sits on.

10–30 minutes each morning

AirSupported

Overnight Bedroom Air

Ventilation, filtration, and CO2 in the room where you spend a third of your life — engineering the air you sleep in.

Setup, then seasonal adjustment