Managing Sensory Overload in New York City
When I first moved to New York City, I lived on an avenue in Park Slope. My bedroom faced the street, and I remember being shocked by how loud it was at night. Traffic didn’t slow down. Sirens echoed. Conversations drifted up from the sidewalk.
It took me about six weeks before my body finally learned how to sleep through the noise.
At the time, I thought that adjustment meant resilience. What I understand now is that my nervous system didn’t rest. It simply learned to tolerate constant stimulation.
Living in New York requires a specific kind of endurance. We take pride in the pace, the energy, and the density of life here. But that intensity comes with a physiological cost. Our nervous systems were never designed to process the level of auditory and visual input that a single city block delivers.
When Noise Becomes a Nervous System State
Even when we’re not consciously stressed, chronic noise keeps the body in a low-grade state of alert. This is sympathetic nervous system activation, often referred to as “fight or flight,” humming quietly in the background.
Ironically, true silence is hard to find anywhere in New York City. Even if you live on a quiet block on the Upper East Side, there is almost always a hum beneath the surface or honking cars or trucks. Over time, the nervous system starts to treat that hum as normal.
This is often why people feel permanently frayed without being able to point to a specific cause.
Why Sound Healing Feels So Different
In sound baths, I often experience something that rarely happens for me in daily life. My thought cycle finally lets go. There’s a moment where my brain stops narrating, stops planning, and stops tracking time.
I don’t lose consciousness. Instead, I drift into a dreamlike state. I’m still aware of what’s happening, but my awareness moves out of my head and into my body. That shift alone is deeply restorative.
This experience is supported by research. A 2017 study published in the Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine found that Tibetan singing bowl meditation significantly reduced tension, anger, fatigue, and physical pain, particularly among participants who were new to sound healing.
Many clients tell me a 60-minute sound bath provides more mental quiet than a weekend away. I understand why. Sound doesn’t ask the mind to work harder. It gives the nervous system permission to downshift.
Katie Boysen provides private sound healing sessions and corporate wellness workshops in New York City. Book your session to experience the science of sound.
