Recent study says those exposed to even moderate levels of aircraft noise had a higher risk of not getting the minimum amount of sleep recommended each night. This risk was also higher in people who lived in the western United States, near a major cargo airport, near a large body of water, and in people without hearing loss.
The Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) and Oregon State University conducted a new analysis that adds to the growing body of research on the harmful health effects of environmental noise and found that exposure to even moderate levels of aircraft noise can be disruptive. sleep. Major airline officials are predicting another record summer flying season.
Those exposed to aircraft noise levels of as little as 45 dB were more likely to sleep less than 7 hours each night, the study, which was published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, found. For comparison, a whisper is 30 decibels (dB), a library is 40 dB, and the average household discussion is 50 dB.
Sleep is essential for overall health and well-being, including daily physical and mental functioning, and lack of adequate sleep can lead to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, depression, diabetes, cancer, and many other health conditions. Health experts report that most adults need seven to nine hours of sleep each night to function healthily.
How researcher conduct the search & collecting data
For the study of Dr. Peters, Dr. Bozigar and colleagues at BUSPH, Harvard Medical School and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health examined aircraft noise exposure and self-reported sleep disturbance in more than 35,000 participants living at 90 major US airports. This study helps us understand the potential health pathways through which aircraft noise can act, such as through disrupted sleep.
The team examined aircraft noise levels every five years from 1995 to 2015, focusing on two measurements: the nocturnal estimate (Lnight), which captures aircraft noise that occurs while people are sleeping, and the day-night estimate (DNL), which captures the average noise level of a 24-hour period and applies a 10 dB adjustment for aircraft noise occurring at night when the background noise is low.
“We found surprisingly strong relationships for specific subgroups that we’re still trying to understand,” says Bozigar. “For example, near large cargo airports, there was a relatively strong signal between aircraft noise and both dimensions of interrupted sleep, short sleep duration and poor sleep quality.
There is probably more to the story because cargo operations tend to use larger, older, heavily loaded and therefore noisier aircraft that often fly at night. And the amount of cargo transported by air has been steadily increasing over the past few decades, likely related to more e-commerce. If trends continue, this could mean greater impacts of aircraft noise on more groups of people.
While the results indicated a clear association between aircraft noise and sleep duration, the researchers did not observe any consistent association between aircraft noise and sleep quality.
There are also more detailed ways to measure sleep than from self-reports, such as wearable activity monitors like the Fitbit, which researchers are increasingly incorporating into studies. And we still need to design studies that include other common sources of traffic noise, such as cars and trains, to determine the health impact of each type.
