I live in a small apartment in a Brooklyn brownstone built in 1931. The walls and floors/ceilings are thin. Papery, in fact. I try not to vacuum at odd hours and to glide after 10. Yet I'm pretty sure I still sound like a bowling elephant to the people downstairs.
And now, I have new neighbors directly above me. Loud neighbors. Neighbors who have woken me up every night almost since they moved in with various noises. After I slipped a note under their door explaining the building's paperness, they stopped moving furniture at 3 am. And so now, it's just the sex.
But oh my gracious. Such loud, top-of-the-lungs sex. It's rare to have a thriving sex life. I don't want to discourage anything. But really? I'm a zombie today just in time for Halloween because of particularly zesty yowling from 1:43 to 2:15. And we all know that disturbed sleep can affect the immune system, not to mention harm focus, drive, and mood.
But what to do? Clearly another note is in order, right? And what should it say? Or do I have to actually knock and say to their faces, "Keep the lovin' low!"? How is it too that I always end up feeling guilty about this sort of thing? Like, "Sorry I'm such a light sleeper, but..." And yet, this would wake the undead. Sigh. Blink. Snore.
How have you handled noisy neighbors? Especially with this kind of situation, which is a little more delicate than the furniture-dragging, stereo-booming variety....
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I'm so sorry to hear about your plight. When I was in college I had to deal with dorm mates being really loud and such too. I agree that you should try and talk to them face to face though it can be embarrassing. I'm basically echoing what Anonymous said, talk to them and if that doesn't work tell the landlord/supervisor about it. They could get fined for being too loud I'm sure. Try to have pleasant sleep/dreams! :)
I have read your story. I think you should better explain them that you are a light sleeper and such loud noises disturbs you.
I'll be checking back to see what advice you get because I'm having the same problem. My upstairs neighbor: I hear his TV at high volumes (no muffled sound, I can repeat what news broadcasters are saying), I hear him yelling during sports shows, I hear him fighting with what I presume to be his ex, I hear him moving what sound like boulders from one room to the next, I hear him puking after a night of drinking, and then there is the sex noise--similar to your situation except my upstairs neighbor is at it roughly 3 hours at a time. He and his female friend have managed to pound open a closed door in my flat, if that is any indication of the frenetic behavior going on above me.
He also must have shared custody of his little girl, who, when she is visiting, will spend the first two hours running from room to room jumping off of every piece of furniture she must come across.
Good times.
I sleep with a noisy air purifier on at night plus a white noise machine. I'm a terrible sleeper, and this helps. A cheap alternative is to take a fan and put it on high to make white noise; if it is cold I turn the fan towards a wall or a dresser. These kinds of people know full well they're being disruptive, they just don't care. I say it's the super's problem if you live in an apartment building. If you live in a house, I guess it's the police's problem but my experience is they don't do anything.
Hi folks, thanks for your thoughts--and for reminding me that I'm not alone at all in this. What I'm realzing too is that home is sacred and it is our place to rest, nourish, and renew (at least ideally), and when it's toxic (energy-wise), it reverberates through our whole lives. The home roots affect the life leaves--or something more poetic! I've definitely been considering moving even more than I was before. Top floor only!
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