Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Associations of Various Nighttime Noise Exposure Indicators with Objective Sleep Efficiency and Subjective Sleep Quality: A Field Study

Martin Röösli
* ,
Mark Brink
ORCID logo ,
Franziska Rudzik
,
Christian Cajochen
,
Martina S. Ragettli
,
Benjamin Flückiger
,
Reto Pieren
ORCID logo ,
Danielle Vienneau
,
Jean-Marc Wunderli
Version 1 : Received: 8 September 2019 / Approved: 9 September 2019 / Online: 9 September 2019 (08:45:43 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Röösli, M.; Brink, M.; Rudzik, F.; Cajochen, C.; Ragettli, M.S.; Flückiger, B.; Pieren, R.; Vienneau, D.; Wunderli, J.-M. Associations of Various Nighttime Noise Exposure Indicators with Objective Sleep Efficiency and Self-Reported Sleep Quality: A Field Study. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16, 3790. Röösli, M.; Brink, M.; Rudzik, F.; Cajochen, C.; Ragettli, M.S.; Flückiger, B.; Pieren, R.; Vienneau, D.; Wunderli, J.-M. Associations of Various Nighttime Noise Exposure Indicators with Objective Sleep Efficiency and Self-Reported Sleep Quality: A Field Study. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16, 3790.

Abstract

It is unclear which noise exposure time window and noise characteristics during nighttime are most detrimental for sleep quality in real life settings. We have conducted a field study with 105 volunteers wearing a wrist actimeter to record their sleep during seven days, together with concurrent outdoor noise measurements at their bedroom window. Actimetry recorded sleep latency increased by 5.6 minutes (95% confidence interval: 1.6 to 9.6 minutes) per 10 dB(A) increase in noise exposure during the first hour after bedtime. Actimetry assessed sleep efficiency was significantly reduced by 2-3 percent per 10 dB(A) increase in measured outdoor noise (Leq, 1h) for the last three hours of sleep. For subjectively reported sleepiness, noise exposure during the last hour prior to wake up was most crucial with an increase in the sleepiness score of 0.31 units (95% CI: 0.08 to 0.54) per 10 dB(A) Leq,1h. Associations for estimated indoor noise were not more pronounced than for outdoor noise. Considering noise events in addition to equivalent sound pressure levels (Leq) only marginally improved the statistical models. Our study provides evidence that matching the nighttime noise exposure time window to the individual’s diurnal sleep-wake pattern results in a better estimate of detrimental nighttime noise effects on sleep. We found that noise exposure at the beginning and the end of the sleep is most crucial for sleep quality.

Keywords

sleep quality; road traffic noise; actimetry; indoor noise; noise measurements; noise annoyance; noise sensitivity; time of day

Subject

Medicine and Pharmacology, Other

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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