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How noise influences your concentration in the laboratory
Lab Academy
- Molecular Biology
- Biotechnology
- Amplification & PCR
- Ergonomics
- PCR Cyclers
- Essay
Noise constantly surrounds us in our private and working environment. Most noises are experienced as background noise and not disturbing. But if noises get too loud, or have a tonality they can get annoying, disturbing, or even dangerous for our health. Therefore, guidelines and recommendations exist to protect us from noise, especially in our working area.
Many of us work 8 hours a day, 5 days a week and this means we spend more time at our working place than at home, on the outside or free time activities. Therefore, it is very important to take care of health in the work environment. And even though it might not be obvious in the first place, noise is one of the biggest threats for concentration and health in our working environment. Multiple studies already showed the impact of noise on our concentration. Participants in these studies solved given tasks slower, wrong or not at all, depending on the noise level and tonality of the noise. In general, one can state: “the louder, the worse”. So extreme noise e.g., at a construction site can impact not only the workers themselves, but people working in buildings next to the site. Now imagine your direct working area is filled with many electronic devices emitting noises, and colleagues talking. Does this sound familiar?
Working area noise levels should be as low as possible
It is just like in your lab! The more devices and people making sounds are present in the lab, the more the noise level grows. Just one example: in work surroundings the noise level should not exceed 80 dB (A) which is a lawn mover. This noise level is already really high. For concentration tasks the noise level should not exceed 40 dB (A). And often in laboratories tasks that need a high level of concentration are necessary. Imagine pipetting different liquids in multiple 96-well, or 384-well plates with a manual pipette. Even with multi-channel pipettes you need a lot of concentration to fill the correct volume in the right well.
Multiplication of laboratory noise
Multiple devices in the lab means multiple sources of noise. It is important to check each device for its noise level before buying e.g., a new freezer, shaker, cycler, etc. Multiplication of the noise when all devices are working simultaneously is a factor that should not be underestimated. So, it is recommended to not only buy devices with a noise level below or around 40 dB maximum, but also to separate “concentration working areas” such as the PCR preparation spot from the rest of the lab. This is not easy for sure with the limited space in most laboratories, but even some meters distance can help a lot. If this is not possible, we recommend using hearing protection for high-concentration tasks.
Working area noise levels should be as low as possible
It is just like in your lab! The more devices and people making sounds are present in the lab, the more the noise level grows. Just one example: in work surroundings the noise level should not exceed 80 dB (A) which is a lawn mover. This noise level is already really high. For concentration tasks the noise level should not exceed 40 dB (A). And often in laboratories tasks that need a high level of concentration are necessary. Imagine pipetting different liquids in multiple 96-well, or 384-well plates with a manual pipette. Even with multi-channel pipettes you need a lot of concentration to fill the correct volume in the right well.
Multiplication of laboratory noise
Multiple devices in the lab means multiple sources of noise. It is important to check each device for its noise level before buying e.g., a new freezer, shaker, cycler, etc. Multiplication of the noise when all devices are working simultaneously is a factor that should not be underestimated. So, it is recommended to not only buy devices with a noise level below or around 40 dB maximum, but also to separate “concentration working areas” such as the PCR preparation spot from the rest of the lab. This is not easy for sure with the limited space in most laboratories, but even some meters distance can help a lot. If this is not possible, we recommend using hearing protection for high-concentration tasks.
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Noise emission should be considered during device development
Our research and development teams consider ergonomics and noise emission as extremely important parts during the development of new products. Therefore, we are proud of having many devices in the portfolio that show a very low noise level. The newest member of this family is the PCR cycler Mastercycler® X40 with a working sound level of only 40.5 dB (A). You would need 78 Mastercycler® X40 running simultaneously to achieve the noise level one of the competitor cyclers emits during a 3-step PCR run. Determination of this value and more details on noise emission of PCR cyclers can be found in the Application Note 474: Optimizing Your Lab Environment with Low-Noise Endpoint PCR Cyclers.
Our research and development teams consider ergonomics and noise emission as extremely important parts during the development of new products. Therefore, we are proud of having many devices in the portfolio that show a very low noise level. The newest member of this family is the PCR cycler Mastercycler® X40 with a working sound level of only 40.5 dB (A). You would need 78 Mastercycler® X40 running simultaneously to achieve the noise level one of the competitor cyclers emits during a 3-step PCR run. Determination of this value and more details on noise emission of PCR cyclers can be found in the Application Note 474: Optimizing Your Lab Environment with Low-Noise Endpoint PCR Cyclers.
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