My fiance is a lovely 25 year old. She is a light sleeper. Every morning at 5:30ish AM, the birds (unknown varieties) start to chirp rather loudly.
Sometimes it wakes me up, sometimes it doesn't. If it does, I enjoy the experience and doze right back off. My fiance on the other hand, is tortured until her alarm clock goes off 90 minutes later.
We have a few oak tree branches over the 1st floor garage in our colonial house, where our bedroom is on the 2nd floor, adjacent to the garage. There is also a 'forest' behind our house on church property. I haven't really seen where the birds are, but they are probably in the forest. There is also a tree in front of the house, but I haven't see birds there in the morning.
What do I do to silence the avian mayhem?
We have tried giving her foam earplugs, but as many as you may know, they are very uncomfortable to sleep in. They also leave her ears feeling 'weird' for the rest of the day. This gives her some degree of sleep, but still far from optimal.
I suggested going to bed earlier, and waking up with the birds. That idea didn't 'fly' very well. (bu-dump kshhh!!!)
We tried sleeping in a different room, but to no avail.
I do have a bb gun, but that seems rather inhumane, and their will always be more birds.
The windows in the house have been replaced fairly recently (only a few years) so soundproofing should be considerated decent.
We are at a loss of what to do for my poor love's bird problems...
Any suggestions? We both would greatly appreciate it, as sometimes at 5:30 she chirps at me in a sleepy bird imitation wrath.
Posted by Artemisia Tridentata (Member # 8746) on :
White noise. Since I started using a humidifier in the bedroom, the neighbor's dog has ceased to be an issue.
Posted by ludosti (Member # 1772) on :
For most of my adult life, I slept with a pillow on my head (as well as under it). Granted, I sleep on my side, so it's easy to arrange another pillow so it covers my ear and doesn't smother me. I discovered one time that those bead-filled mushy pillows somehow can block out the pitch of crickets (though it doesn't block out much of the other noise).
Being a sleep-deprived new mom, I rarely have problems falling and staying asleep now, but I wouldn't recommend that as a way to deal with her situation. Posted by RivalOfTheRose (Member # 11535) on :
Thank you for your kind suggestions!
We need to try different pillow densities I suppose, because I can attest to the fact that putting our current ones over our heads doesn't muffle the chirping enough.
I guess we can try the white noise thing, but my money is on it keeping her awake. But, you don't know if you don't try.
Thanks again, from both of us!
Posted by MightyCow (Member # 9253) on :
I would second the white noise option. A air purifier, humidifier, or simple fan will drown out a lot of other noises.
You might also consider putting a bird feeder far from the house - the birds might abandon the tree for the free food.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
quote:Originally posted by MightyCow: I would second the white noise option. A air purifier, humidifier, or simple fan will drown out a lot of other noises.
Thirded. And if the "cheap" white noise makers don't do the trick, there are more expensive (but quieter and more effective) ones too. But try the fan first.
Also, there are different brand of foam earplugs, and there are earplugs made of other materials.
Posted by rollainm (Member # 8318) on :
Fiancée.
Posted by Valentine014 (Member # 5981) on :
Has she tried the wax earplugs? They are much more comfortable, as they do not stick out of the ear. Have you considered getting darker drapes? Perhaps the sun, in combination with the birds, that is causing problems. Of course, there are always sleep aides. Ones specifically that are for people who have trouble staying asleep.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
I recommend going to bed earlier.
Posted by Alcon (Member # 6645) on :
quote: Of course, there are always sleep aides. Ones specifically that are for people who have trouble staying asleep.
Speaking from some experience I'd suggest trying every thing else you possibly can before turning to chemical sleep aids. They can play with your brain in all sorts of wacky ways.
Does anyone know of any non-chemical sleep aids that are worth trying? I'm also one who has difficulty with sleeping.
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
I'd second the going to bed earlier idea. She could get up and read or exercise. One thing I know, the more she thinks about how annoying the birds are, the more they will bug her.
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
I'm a similarly light sleeper. I'd go for white noise, since earplugs didn't work.
Going to bed earlier doesn't work for me. I'm a night owl and have a strong preference for going to bed late and sleeping late. Waking up at 7 for work is bad enough, but a few years ago I had to get up at 5:55 AM daily for a different job, and I just never got used to it. Didn't seem to matter when I went to bed, I'm just not built to get up at that hour of the morning on a regular basis.
So I would not recommend going to bed earlier. If your fiancee is anything like me, it just plain won't work.
Posted by steven (Member # 8099) on :
put out birdseed far enough away from the house that you can't hear the chirping, but close enough so that the birds will find it. You could also try to sound-proof the window--tiny cracks let in quite a bit of sound.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
quote:Originally posted by twinky: Going to bed earlier doesn't work for me. I'm a night owl and have a strong preference for going to bed late and sleeping late.
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