Welcome to RenewHer, a podcast for women over 50 ready to reignite their energy and explore what's next. I'm Genell Lemley, brain fitness coach. Here, you'll hear real stories from women taking on new challenges after 50, along with brain health tips to boost focus, energy, and the mindset to move forward with confidence.
Let's dive into today's episode.
Welcome back to Brain Notes, short conversations about the everyday choices that can have a big impact on your brain. Have you ever found yourself getting irrationally irritated by a sound that just wouldn't stop? Maybe it's a barking dog, a neighbor mowing the lawn, leaf blowers, or in my case this week, construction.
If you've been listening to this podcast for a while, you know I usually try to find everyday moments that teach us something about our brains. Well, this week, I didn't have to look very hard because the lesson was happening right outside my front door.
We have a long driveway that we share with several neighbors. After years of wear and tear, it was finally time to replace it. That meant tearing the entire thing out, bringing in new rock, and repaving it. Sounds simple enough, but what I wasn't prepared for was two full days of constant construction noise.
And when I say constant, I mean constant. The backup alarms from the bobcats and trucks. Beep, beep, beep. Over and over again. Then there were the engines running, equipment moving, asphalt being broken apart, trucks coming and going, and people shouting directions. The new asphalt doesn't go in until next week, so thankfully, we'll get a few days of quiet before they come back.
But after two days, I honestly felt like I was going a little crazy. I was trying to work from home, answer emails, write, think creatively, and prepare podcast content. Normally, those things flow fairly well. This week, everything felt like it was taking twice as long. I'd read something and immediately lose my train of thought. I'd start writing, hear another backup alarm, and have to refocus all over again.
I felt tense. I noticed my patience wearing thin, and my husband might even confirm that part. By the second day, today actually, I finally decided I had to leave the house. I packed up my computer and headed to the library just so I could experience some peace and quiet. I could think again. I could focus. I became productive. I actually prepared this episode from the library.
That experience got me thinking, "What exactly was happening inside my brain? Was I just being overly sensitive, or is there actually a scientific reason certain noises affect us the way they do?"
So, as it turns out, after doing some research, there actually is. I learned a few things, and what I learned was reassuring. It reminded me that my brain wasn't failing me. It was responding exactly the way it was designed to. One of the reasons those backup alarms are so difficult to ignore is because they're designed that way. They're specifically created to capture our attention.
Your brain has something called an orienting response. It's an automatic survival mechanism that constantly scans your environment for anything new, unexpected, or potentially important. Thousands of years ago, that response helped our ancestors notice a predator hiding in the bushes. Today, it notices a truck backing up outside your window. Every. Single. Time.
Even when you think you've tuned the noise out, your brain is still monitoring it in the background. And that takes energy. Think about your brain like a computer. If you have one browser tab open, everything runs pretty smoothly. But if you have 30 tabs open, even if you're only working in one of them, your computer slows down.
Persistent noise does something similar to your brain. Part of your mental energy is constantly being used to filter out distractions. That leaves fewer resources available for concentration, creativity, decision-making, and memory. That's why I felt like everything was taking twice as long. It wasn't because I suddenly became less capable. My brain was simply working harder.
There's something else happening, too. When we're exposed to loud or unpredictable noise for long periods of time, our stress response can begin to activate. Even if we don't consciously feel stressed, our nervous system often does. Stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline can increase. Muscles become more tense. We become more easily irritated. Our patience gets shorter, and we can start feeling mentally exhausted. Sound familiar? It certainly did to me.
Now, does that mean a couple of days of construction noise are gonna damage your brain? No. Our brains are remarkably resilient, but it does remind us that our environment matters.
We often think about brain health in terms of sleep, nutrition, exercise, and learning new things. Those are all incredibly important, but our brains are also responding to the thousands of little experiences we have every day. The noise around us, the lighting in our workspace, the interruptions, the amount of stimulation we're trying to process. All of those things either help our brains or require our brains to work a little harder.
So what can we do when we can't control the noise? One option is exactly what I did. If possible, change your environment. Even a few hours in a quieter space can give your brain a chance to reset. Noise-canceling headphones can also be incredibly helpful. Some people find white noise, pink noise, or nature sounds helpful because they mask unpredictable sounds with something more consistent.
And perhaps most importantly, give yourself a little grace. If you're struggling to focus while there's construction outside your office, or your kids are home for the summer, or you're working in a noisy environment, you're not going crazy. You're not being overly sensitive. Your brain is simply doing exactly what it was designed to do.
It's trying to keep you aware of what's happening around you while also helping you finish your work. That's a difficult balancing act. This week reminded me of something I think we all need to remember. Sometimes we judge ourselves for not being as productive as we think we should be, but before we blame ourselves, it's worth asking, "What is my brain dealing with that I haven't stopped to notice?"
Because when we understand what's happening inside our brains, we stop seeing ourselves as the problem. Instead, we can make small adjustments that help our brains work the way they're designed to. And sometimes that adjustment is as simple as taking your laptop to the library. Thanks for joining me for another Brain Notes.
Until next time, take care of your brain because it takes care of you.
Thank you for joining me for this episode of RenewHer. If today's conversation sparked something in you, don't let it fade. Take even a small step toward what's next. If you found value in what you heard, please subscribe, leave a review, or share this podcast with a woman who's ready to take her next bold step.
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