Restaurants are noisy. Dining amid the din could be hurting us.

• Why it matters: We live in a noisy world — and excessive noise is a seldom-discussed health threat that increases the risk of high blood pressure, stroke and heart attacks, The New York Times reports.

All that noise can be even more taxing when we're trying to eat and drink.

• Noise complaints are increasingly common in reviews as restaurants get more cramped and louder. Surveys from Zagat and Consumer Reports have both found that noise is diners' top gripe, beating food issues, crowds or service, Vox reports.

🍽️ Zoom in: The Washington Post dives into the decibel levels of eating out in a fascinating interactive story that takes place inside a Peruvian restaurant in D.C.

• The noise level inside the place is standard for a busy restaurant in a city. It's around 80 decibels, which is about 100 times more intense for human ears than normal conversation.

🔎 Between the lines: Spending time in noisy restaurants can turn a relaxing night out into a stressful experience. And it can make servers and other staffers' jobs even more tiring.

• "Noise triggers stress hormones to flood our bodies. Over time, blood vessels stiffen and blood pressure soars. Inflammatory responses course through our organ systems, studies showed, eventually leading to cardiovascular disease and heightened anxiety," the Post reports.
• It can even make us eat our food more quickly.
• Research has also shown that we tend to drink more alcohol when it's louder, perhaps because it's harder to hold a conversation.

👀 What to watch: There are design changes restaurants can make — from adding sound absorption panels to spacing tables farther apart — to reduce noise and noise complaints.

• Tom Sietsema, the Post's longtime food critic, suggests dining during off-hours so you can enjoy delicious food while sparing your ears and brain.
• He's also advocated for quiet hours at restaurants.

Go deeper: Listen to the restaurant via The Washington Post (gift link, no paywall)

The pic du jour comes from reader Pat Hill-Yandell of Plano, Texas.

• "Even though I've lived in Texas 60 of my 82 years, the 22 I spent in Las Cruces, N.M., will always have my heart! I graduated from high school and university there, and my two kids were born there. Go see these awesome Organ Mountains, bordering the city on its eastern edge, if you can."