The influence of continuous and intermittent traffic noise on sleep

doi:10.1016/S0022-460X(87)81376-7

Journal of Sound and Vibration

Volume 116, Issue 3, 8 August 1987, Pages 445-464

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-460X(87)81376-7 Get rights and content

The effects of road traffic noise on sleep were studied in the laboratory using nine young male adults (aged 20–26). The subjects were exposed to noise with different temporal characteristics: (i) continuous traffic noise of 36 dB(A) or 45 dB(A), (ii) intermittent noise of 50 truck passages with L_pmax = 45 dB(A) (L_eq = 29 dB(A)) or L_pmax = 55 dB(A) (L_eq = 36 dB(A)), and (iii) a combination of continuous (45 dB(A)) and intermittent (L_pmax = 55 dB(A)) traffic noise. For one noise condition (intermittent 55 dB(A)) the effect of the use of ear plugs was also studied. The intermittent noise of L_pmax = 45 dB(A) caused transitions towards lighter sleep, whereas 55 dB(A) was needed to induce awakening effects. It could be shown that the probability for arousal reactions depends on the emergence of the noise peaks from the background, rather than the absolute noise peak level. Continuous traffic noise of 45 dB(A) caused REM sleep deficits, while intermittent traffic noise of L_pmax = 45 dB(A) caused stage III+IV deficits. The night with ear plugs was virtually undisturbed. After nights with REM sleep deficits the subjective sleep quality was rated lower and mood was influenced adversely. For the types of exposure used in the present investigation L_eq alone is not an adequate descriptor of the noise dose, relating to the sleep disturbances observed. From the present experiment, together with other existing data, it might be concluded that the WHO recommendation of L_eq = 35 dB(A) is adequate, but should be supplemented with a maximum noise level, as expressed for example in L_pmax or L_I, that should not be exceeded.

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Rapid anthropogenic transformation of environments exposes organisms to diverse disturbance factors, including anthropogenic noise pollution and artificial light at night (ALAN). These sensory pollutants interfere with acquisition of, and response to, environmental cues and can be perceived as stressors. Noise pollution and ALAN are often experienced simultaneously, and are thus likely to jointly affect organisms, either additively or interactively. Yet, combined effects of noise pollution and ALAN remain poorly elucidated. We studied combined effects of noise pollution and ALAN on the sleep behaviour of a free-living songbird, the great tit (Parus major). Sleep is widely conserved across animal taxa and fulfils essential functions, and research has demonstrated independent effects of both noise and ALAN on sleep. We measured noise and light levels at nest boxes and used infrared video-recording to assess sleep behaviour. Results did not support interactive effects of noise and ALAN. However, noise pollution and ALAN were both independently related to variation in sleep behaviour, in sex- and season-dependent fashions. Males, but not females, woke up and left the nest box ∼20 min later in the noisiest as compared to quietest environments (range: 44.2–79.4 dB), perhaps because males are more sensitive to acoustical cues that are masked by noise. Furthermore, as the season progressed from November to early March, birds woke up and left the nest box ∼35 min earlier relative to sunrise on territories with the lowest, but not the highest, light levels (range: 0.01–8.5 lux). Thus, the seasonal difference in sleep duration was dampened on light polluted territories. These effects could arise if ALAN interferes with birds’ ability to sense and respond to increasing daylength, and could have fitness ramifications. Our study suggests that noise pollution and ALAN exert additive effects on sleep behaviour, and that these effects can be sex- and season-dependent.
Road traffic noise impacts sleep continuity in suburban residents: Exposure-response quantification of noise-induced awakenings from vehicle pass-bys at night
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Nocturnal traffic noise has been associated with adverse health outcomes in exposed residents. Precise quantification of traffic noise effects on sleep is thus of great importance. Here we establish an exposure-response relationship for the awakening probability due to intermittent road traffic noise in suburban residents.
We conducted a field study in residential areas where road traffic was the dominant noise source, and noise events were attributable to separate vehicle pass-bys. Forty healthy participants underwent polysomnography for five consecutive nights at their homes. A total of 11,003 road traffic noises derived from simultaneous acoustic measurements at the sleepers' ears were included in an event-related analysis of awakenings.
Logistic regression analysis revealed that the awakening probability due to road traffic noise increased with the maximum sound pressure level (SPL) and the maximum slope of the increasing SPL of a vehicle pass-by, as well as the age of the exposed individual. Compared to sleep stage 2, the awakening probability was higher in rapid eye movement sleep (REMS) and lower in slow wave sleep (SWS). The protective effect of both stage 2 and SWS against awakenings decreased with age, whereas no age-dependent change was observed for REMS. When adjusting for other contributing factors, the probability of a noise-induced awakening ranged from 0% at a maximum SPL of 27.1 dB(A) to 2.0% at 70 dB(A).
Road traffic noise at night – even in suburban areas with moderate traffic density – negatively impacts residents' sleep continuity. Exposure-response quantification for traffic noise-induced awakenings may serve as a basis for noise protection efforts by regulators and policy makers.
Spatially differentiated profiles for road traffic noise pollution across a state road network
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Diverse traffic noise profiles across road networks remain largely undifferentiated using standardised noise indicators. To address this issue, this work derives two supplementary noise indicators for road traffic noise. The first supplementary indicator differentiates the impacts of daytime and night-time noise exposure. The second supplementary indicator differentiates heavy vehicle noise from commuter traffic noise. Both indicators are expressed in terms of hourly contributions of light and heavy vehicle noise associated with standard traffic noise indicators. The Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient is used to evaluate the strength of the relationship between the standard and supplementary noise indicators. Using the supplementary noise indicators, spatial variability of light and heavy vehicle traffic composition across urban and rural parts of a state road network in Australia is presented. The findings add a useful spatial dimension to large scale road traffic noise impact studies to better inform epidemiology and noise management action plans.
Effects of sound environment on the sleep of college students in China
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Citation Excerpt :
A total of 45 rooms were measured for ambient noise using sound-level metres separately, which were placed at ear level of participants in bedrooms to record equivalent sound level (LAeq), peak sound levels (L10, 10th percentiles in dBA LAeq), background sound levels (L90, 90th percentiles in dBA LAeq) at the measuring point, with slow-style and A-weight (Park et al., 2014) since they are all related to sleep. To better describe the acoustic environment of our study population, we maintained the habitual sleep schedules for the participants as the targeted sleep period studied (Eberhardt et al., 1987). The measurement was carried out in winter, November 2018, for a week.
Chinese college students reside primarily in four-person bedrooms and even six-person bedrooms, where the sound from roommates may affect their sleep. Therefore, the purpose of the present study is to investigate the effects of different sound sources and sound levels on sleep for college students in China. Based on sleep quality measurements, acoustic environment measurements, and a questionnaire survey with 90 participants in a typical residence hall in Harbin city, China, the results are as following: First, 68.89% of college students experienced sleep deprivation, and indoor noise was the most influential environmental factor among 15 disruptors that disturbed 50% of college students. Second, the number of occupants per room was a significant factor affecting the background sound level of sleep, which was highest when the number of occupants was two, and lowest when the number was five. Third, deep sleep time and rapid eye movements (REM) sleep time decreased 1.7 min and 1.4 min per 1 dBA (decibel with A-weight), with R² = 0.352 and 0.332, respectively (p < .001). In terms of the effect of sound sources on sleep, sleep was mostly disturbed by roommate conversation (77.42%), and noise caused by roommate sleep-related activities was the most common source of activities (67.74%). The present study can provide guidelines to help enhance the sleep quality of Chinese college students through improvements in the sound environment.
Field study on the impact of nocturnal road traffic noise on sleep: The importance of in- and outdoor noise assessment, the bedroom location and nighttime noise disturbances
2014, Science of the Total Environment
Citation Excerpt :
The effects of nocturnal road traffic noise on sleep have been extensively studied during the last decades. In laboratory studies, specific attention was paid on the establishment of dose–effect relationships and more recently, on the different sleep disturbing effects following single and combined traffic noise exposure (Basner et al., 2011; Eberhardt et al., 1987; Öhrström and Rylander, 1990). Results of large-scale field studies investigating the effects of road traffic noise on sleep using questionnaires and sleep logs tend to point in the same direction; that is, a worsening of sleep and a decreased general well-being in regions with increased nocturnal traffic noise (Belojević et al., 1997; Jakovljević et al., 2006; Öhrström, 1991, 2004a; Öhrström and Skånberg, 2004; Stošić et al., 2009; Van Renterghem and Botteldooren, 2012).
The aim of this field study is to gain more insight into the way nocturnal road traffic noise impacts the sleep of inhabitants living in noisy regions, by taking into account several modifying variables. Participants were tested during five consecutive nights in their homes and comparisons between effective indoor and outdoor noise levels (L_Aeq, L_Amax, number of noise events), sleep (actigraphy and sleep logs) and aspects of well-being (questionnaires) were made. Also, we investigated into what extent nocturnal noise exposure – objectively measured as well as perceived – directly relates to sleep outcomes and how the bedroom location influenced our measurements.
We found that subjects living and sleeping in noisy regions correctly perceive their environment in terms of noise exposure and reported an overall discomfort due to traffic noise. In the evaluation of the objective noise levels, the inside noise levels did not follow the outside noise levels, though the different noise patterns could be described as characteristic for a noise and quiet environment. The impact on sleep, however, was only modest and we did not find any influence of noise intrusion on mood or pre-sleep arousal levels. Concerning the subjectively reported noise disturbances during the night, a clear relationship between noise and sleep outcomes could be established; with sleep onset latencies and judged sleep quality being particularly affected.
The importance of inside and outside noise assessment as well as the use of multiple noise indicators in a home environment is further described. Additional emphasis is put on the determination of quiet control regions and the bedroom location, as this can alter noise levels and sleep outcomes. Also, including subjective noise evaluations during the night might not only provide crucial information on how participants experience the noise, but also allows for a more qualitative interpretation of the actual noise situation.
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2012, Landscape and Urban Planning
Citation Excerpt :
In such locations the occurrence of NSEs can exert a strong impact on the exposed population, since the increase in sound-pressure level can be very high (Björkman, 1991). Special attention should be paid to residential areas since the onset of intermittent noise as well as impulsive sound events could cause serious damage on sleep (Eberhardt et al., 1987; Pirrera et al., 2010). At locations where the level of activity and traffic intensity is higher, the background noise level will likewise be higher, masking part of the sound energy introduced by a NSE; thus, its impact on the population could be lower.
European Directive on Environmental Noise Management set forth the need to undertake strategic noise maps as a diagnostic action for the development of action plans. The competent authorities are faced with the problem of determining which specific measures can be undertaken from a technical and economical standpoint. On the other hand, one of the typical aspects of urban sound environments is the appearance of noticed sound events, occurrences that generate the appearance of sudden increases of sound pressure level, in instantaneous time intervals. In terms of the effect generated on the exposed population, this can cause a great annoyance level due to the large amount of sound energy that sharply affects the population. That is, this type of event increases sensitivity to the surrounding sound environment, heightening perception of the environmental noise, as the sound event becomes the focus of attention. For these reason, this paper studies and analyzes the establishment of a program based on the detection and reduction/elimination of noticed sound events as a tool for inclusion in the action plans against urban noise. In light of the results obtained in this work the night-time periods and residential areas are strongly affected by noticed sound events, which is really significant since those are the urban scenarios where these events have the most potential to impact upon public health through noise annoyance and sleep disturbance. Moreover, the identification and elimination of these sound events can achieve important reductions in the environmental noise of the evaluated location, L_Aeq.

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^†: Present address Department of Technical Audiology, City Hospital of Karlstad, Sweden.

View full text

The influence of continuous and intermittent traffic noise on sleep

Journal of Sound and Vibration

Physiology and Behaviour

Physiology and Behaviour

The Science of the Total Environment

Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology

Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology

Journal of Sound and Vibration

Journal of Sound and Vibration

Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology

Journal of Sound and Vibration

Journal of Sound and Vibration

Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology

Experimental Neurology

Journal of Sound and Vibration

Journal of Sound and Vibration

Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology

Journal of Sound and Vibration

Journal of Sound and Vibration

Electrical reactions of the human brain to auditory stimulation during sleep

Journal of Neuro-Physiology

Attention, discrimination, and arousal during sleep

Archives of General Psychiatry

Discriminative responses to stimulation during human sleep

Brain

Response to auditory stimulation during sleep

Archives of General Psychiatry

Ljudstörningars Inverkan på Sömnen (Trafikbuller)

Internal Report of the Institute of Environmental health, University of Lund, Sweden SNV kontraktnr

A manual of standardized terminology, techniques and scoring system for sleep stages of human subjects

The differential laboratory adaptation of sleep parameters

Biological Psychiatry

Self-reported arousal during sleep deprivation and its relation to performance and physiological variables

Scandinavian Journal of Psychology

Self-reported arousal: further development of a multi-factorial inventory

Scandinavian Journal of Psychology

Laboratory investigations into effects of noise on human sleep

Normal sleep pattern analyzed statistically and studied by color “dormograms”

Sleep

Sleep recordings in the laboratory and home: a comparative analysis

Psychophysiology

Nachtschlafuntersuchungen: Mobile Registrierung im Vergleich mit Konventioneller Laborableitung

Zeitschrift für EEG-EMG

Sleep studies in the subject's home

Clinical Electroencephalography

Disturbance of human sleep by subsonic jet aircraft noise and simulated sonic booms

NASA CR-1780

Effects on sleep of noise from two proposed STOL aircraft

NASA CR-132564

Electrophysiological and cardiovascular responses to noise during sleep. Effects of a benzodiazepine hypnotic

Zur Problematik Lärmbedingter Schlafstörungen—Eine Auswertung von Schlafliteratur

Berichte Umweltbundesamt

Disturbance of sleep by noise

Journal of the Acoustical Society of America

Effect of intermittent truck noise on percentage of deep sleep

Journal of the Acoustical Society of America

Evaluation subjective du sommeil normal ou perturbé par le bruit: relations avec certains indicateurs physiologiques et traits de personnalité

Thesis

Veränderungen der Schlafstadienmuster des Menschen und Hang-over-Effekte unter Estazolam

Arzneimedel-Forschung/ Drug Research