As you fire up your upright vacuum, all current activities that require the absence of ambient noise (talking on the phone, watching television, sleeping etc) come to an abrupt end. You may as well be using a chainsaw in your living room relative to the disruption that it causes. With a central vacuum, the noisy motor is in the garage or basement, so all you will hear is the air flowing through the cleaning attachment on the hose itself. Life can continue without interruption, although sleeping while vacuuming is not recommended.