There is an interesting article, by Nick Collins, about an Oxford University study concerning crying babies. The study found that a crying baby is almost impossible to ignore since our brains instantly react to a crying baby. This is true even if you don’t have a child of your own.
The scientists at Oxford University studied individual brain responses to different recordings that included adults crying, babies crying and animal distress noises. Responses to the various noises were equal with the exception of the response to a crying baby. Crying baby sounds produced a significant amount of emotional response.
“When you a hear a baby on a plane you are immediately alert – it is one of those sounds it is very difficult to ignore, and it might facilitate us in responding quickly at a time when you really need to.”
Of course, put that crying baby on a train or a plane and you have a lot of tired people who can’t catch any Zzz’s. No matter how hard you try, you brain’s emotional response to the crying baby keeps you awake. This creates a stressful situation for the parents, who are already trying to calm the crying baby.
Read the complete article, “Why you will never sleep on a plane if a baby is crying”