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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2019) | Viewed by 30741

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Mark Brink

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Guest Editor

Privatdozent, Federal Office for the Environment, 3003 Bern, Switzerland
Interests: environmental noise; noise annoyance; noise-induced sleep disturbances; health effects of noise; noise metrics; environmental policy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Asoc. Prof. Dr. Mathias Basner

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Guest Editor

Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Interests: noise effects on sleep and health; neurobehavioral effects of sleep deprivation; population studies on time use and sleep; astronaut behavioral health

Dr. Gunn Marit Aasvang

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Guest Editor

Department of Air Pollution and Noise, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Pb 4404 Nydalen, 0403 Oslo, Norway
Interests: Noise; Sleep; Sleep disturbances; Cardiovascular disease; Health Impact Assessment; Environmental Burden of Disease

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health welcomes submissions for a Special Issue of the journal. This Special Issue will focus on environmental noise and sleep.

The WHO estimated the burden of disease from the transportation noise to be largely determined by noise-induced sleep disturbances with more than 900,000 DALYs lost each year in Western Europe alone due to noise at night, with road traffic noise being responsible for the largest fraction of this burden. From a public health perspective, sleep disturbance in and of itself is a relevant health outcome, but noise-induced sleep disturbances are also suspected to be in the causal pathway to cardiovascular disease as non-habituating autonomic reactions to noise events may be important precursors of long-term cardiovascular outcomes. Albeit the association between night-time noise and long-term health outcomes has been demonstrated in the recent literature, the pathogenetic mechanisms leading to disease are still not well understood. However, there is ample evidence that nocturnal noise exposure disturbs and fragments sleep and leads to awakening reactions, elicits arousals or motility reactions, induces changes in sleep structure, and also triggers self-reported annoyance and disturbance reactions. The quantification of such night-time noise effects and the elucidation of the respective exposure–response relationships is an important scientific foundation for night noise protection policies.

We invite prospective authors to present their latest work in these important research domains in this Special Issue. The Special Issue is open to manuscripts in the area of noise-induced sleep disturbances, measured objectively or by self-reporting, in the laboratory or in the field, and from all noise sources. Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, except in the form of congress papers. All manuscripts will be thoroughly peer-reviewed.

PD Dr. Mark Brink
Asoc. Prof. Dr. Mathias Basner
Dr. Gunn Marit Aasvang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Sleep disturbances due to environmental noise
Exposure–response relationships
Transportation noise
Road traffic noise
Railway noise
Aircraft noise
Long-term impacts of nighttime noise on health
Awakenings
Arousals
Vibration effects on sleep
Noise respite and sleep disturbances
Noise indicators explaining noise effects on sleep
Standardization of the measurement of noise-induced sleep disturbances
Night-time noise protection concepts

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 1048 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Survey Results of a Pilot Sleep Study Near Atlanta International Airport

by Sarah Rocha, Michael G. Smith, Maryam Witte and Mathias Basner

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(22), 4321; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16224321 - 06 Nov 2019

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3231

Abstract

Aircraft noise can disturb the sleep of residents living near airports. To investigate potential effects of aircraft noise on sleep, recruitment surveys for a pilot field study were mailed to households around Atlanta International Airport. Survey items included questions about sleep quality, sleep disturbance by noise, noise annoyance, coping behaviors, and health. Of 3159 deliverable surveys, 319 were returned (10.1%). Calculated outdoor nighttime aircraft noise (L_night) was significantly associated with lower sleep quality (poor or fair; odds ratio (OR) = 1.04/decibel (dB); p < 0.05), trouble falling asleep within 30 min ≥1/week (OR = 1.06/dB; p < 0.01), and trouble sleeping due to awakenings ≥1/week (OR = 1.04/dB; p < 0.05). L_night was also associated with increased prevalence of being highly sleep disturbed (OR = 1.15/dB; p < 0.0001) and highly annoyed (OR = 1.17/dB; p < 0.0001) by aircraft noise. Furthermore L_night was associated with several coping behaviors. Residents were more likely to report often or always closing their windows (OR = 1.05/dB; p < 0.01), consuming alcohol (OR = 1.10/dB; p < 0.05), using television (OR = 1.05/dB; p < 0.05) and using music (OR = 1.07/dB; p < 0.05) as sleep aids. There was no significant relationship between L_night and self-reported general health or likelihood of self-reported diagnosis of sleep disorders, heart disease, hypertension or diabetes. Evidence of self-reported adverse effects of aircraft noise on sleep found in this pilot study warrant further investigation in larger, more representative subject cohorts. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Noise and Sleep)

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21 pages, 6079 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Self-Reported Sleep Disturbance from Road, Rail and Aircraft Noise: Exposure-Response Relationships and Effect Modifiers in the SiRENE Study

by Mark Brink, Beat Schäffer, Danielle Vienneau, Reto Pieren, Maria Foraster, Ikenna C. Eze, Franziska Rudzik, Laurie Thiesse, Christian Cajochen, Nicole Probst-Hensch, Martin Röösli and Jean Marc Wunderli

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(21), 4186; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16214186 - 29 Oct 2019

Cited by 38 | Viewed by 4030

Abstract

This survey investigates the cross-sectional association between nighttime road, rail and aircraft noise exposure and the probability to be highly sleep disturbed (%HSD), as measured by self-report in postal and online questionnaires. As part of the Swiss SiRENE study, a total of 5592 survey participants in the entire country were selected based on a stratified random sample of their dwelling. Self-reported sleep disturbance was measured using an ICBEN-style 5-point verbal scale. The survey was carried out in four waves at different times of the year. Source-specific noise exposure was calculated for several façade points for each dwelling. After adjustment for potential confounders, all three noise sources showed a statistically significant association between the nighttime noise level LNight at the most exposed façade point and the probability to report high sleep disturbance, as determined by logistic regression. The association was strongest for aircraft noise and weakest for road traffic noise. We a priori studied the role of a range of effect modifiers, including the “eventfulness” of noise exposure, expressed as the Intermittency Ratio (IR) metric, bedroom window position, bedroom orientation towards the closest street, access to a quiet side of the dwelling, degree of urbanization, sleep timing factors (bedtime and sleep duration), sleep medication intake, survey season and night air temperature. While bedroom orientation exhibited a strong moderating effect, with an Leq-equivalent of nearly 20 dB if the bedroom faces away from the nearest street, the LNight-%HSD associations were not affected by bedroom window position, sleep timing factors, survey season, or temperature. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Noise and Sleep)

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13 pages, 892 KiB

Open AccessArticle

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

by Martin Röösli, Mark Brink, Franziska Rudzik, Christian Cajochen, Martina S. Ragettli, Benjamin Flückiger, Reto Pieren, Danielle Vienneau and Jean-Marc Wunderli

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(20), 3790; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16203790 - 09 Oct 2019

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4278

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 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 min (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.6 to 9.6 min) per 10 dB(A) increase in noise exposure during the first hour after bedtime. Actimetry-assessed sleep efficiency was significantly reduced by 2%–3% per 10 dB(A) increase in measured outdoor noise (L_{eq, 1h}) for the last three hours of sleep. For self-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) L_eq,1h. Associations for estimated indoor noise were not more pronounced than for outdoor noise. Taking noise events into consideration in addition to equivalent sound pressure levels (L_eq) 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. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Noise and Sleep)

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19 pages, 3625 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Aircraft Noise Effects on Sleep—Results of a Pilot Study Near Philadelphia International Airport

by Mathias Basner, Maryam Witte and Sarah McGuire

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(17), 3178; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16173178 - 31 Aug 2019

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3294

Abstract

Current objective data on aircraft noise effects on sleep are needed in the US to inform policy. In this pilot field study, heart rate and body movements were continuously measured during sleep of residents living in the vicinity of Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) and in a control region without aircraft noise with sociodemographic characteristics similar to the exposed region (N = 40 subjects each). The primary objective was to establish the feasibility of unattended field measurements. A secondary objective was to compare objective and subjective measures of sleep and health between control and aircraft noise exposed groups. For all measurements, there was less than 10% of data loss, demonstrating the feasibility of unattended home measurements. Based on 2375 recorded aircraft noise events, we found a significant (unadjusted p = 0.0136) exposure-response function between the maximum sound pressure level of aircraft noise events and awakening probability inferred from heart rate increases and body movements, which was similar to previous studies. Those living near the airport reported poorer sleep quality and poorer health than the control group in general, but when asked in the morning about their last night’s sleep, no significant difference was found between groups. Neither systolic nor diastolic morning blood pressures differed between study regions. While this study demonstrates the feasibility of unattended field study measurements, for a national study around multiple US airports refinements of the study design are necessary to further lower methodological expense and increase participation rates. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Noise and Sleep)

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13 pages, 629 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparing the Effects of Road, Railway, and Aircraft Noise on Sleep: Exposure–Response Relationships from Pooled Data of Three Laboratory Studies

by Eva-Maria Elmenhorst, Barbara Griefahn, Vinzent Rolny and Mathias Basner

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(6), 1073; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16061073 - 26 Mar 2019

Cited by 28 | Viewed by 5294

Abstract

Objectives: Air, road, and railway traffic, the three major sources of traffic noise, have been reported to differently impact on annoyance. However, these findings may not be transferable to physiological reactions during sleep which are considered to decrease nighttime recovery and might mediate long-term negative health effects. Studies on awakenings from sleep indicate that railway noise, while having the least impact on annoyance, may have the most disturbing properties on sleep compared to aircraft noise. This study presents a comparison between the three major traffic modes and their probability to cause awakenings. In combining acoustical and polysomnographical data from three laboratory studies sample size and generalizability of the findings were increased. Methods: Data from three laboratory studies were pooled, conducted at two sites in Germany (German Aerospace Center, Cologne, and Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Dortmund). In total, the impact of 109,836 noise events on polysomnographically assessed awakenings was analyzed in 237 subjects using a random intercept logistic regression model. Results: The best model fit according to the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) included different acoustical and sleep parameters. After adjusting for these moderators results showed that the probability to wake up from equal maximum A-weighted sound pressure levels (SPL) increased in the order aircraft < road < railway noise, the awakening probability from road and railway noise being not significantly different (p = 0.988). At 70 dB SPL, it was more than 7% less probable to wake up due to aircraft noise than due to railway noise. Conclusions: The three major traffic noise sources differ in their impact on sleep. The order with which their impact increased was inversed compared to the order that was found in annoyance surveys. It is thus important to choose the correct concept for noise legislation, i.e., physiological sleep metrics in addition to noise annoyance for nighttime noise protection. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Noise and Sleep)

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12 pages, 570 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Aircraft Noise Exposure on Heart Rate during Sleep in the Population Living Near Airports

by Ali-Mohamed Nassur, Damien Léger, Marie Lefèvre, Maxime Elbaz, Fanny Mietlicki, Philippe Nguyen, Carlos Ribeiro, Matthieu Sineau, Bernard Laumon and Anne-Sophie Evrard

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(2), 269; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16020269 - 18 Jan 2019

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 4922

Abstract

Background Noise in the vicinity of airports is a public health problem. Many laboratory studies have shown that heart rate is altered during sleep after exposure to road or railway noise. Fewer studies have looked at the effects of exposure to aircraft noise on heart rate during sleep in populations living near airports. Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the sound pressure level (SPL) of aircraft noise and heart rate during sleep in populations living near airports in France. Methods In total, 92 people living near the Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Toulouse-Blagnac airports participated in this study. Heart rate was recorded every 15 s during one night, using an Actiheart monitor, with simultaneous measurements of SPL of aircraft noise inside the participants’ bedrooms. Energy and event-related indicators were then estimated. Mixed linear regression models were applied, taking into account potential confounding factors, to investigate the relationship between energy indicators and heart rate during sleep measured every 15 s. Event-related analyses were also carried out in order to study the effects of an acoustic event associated with aircraft noise on heart rate during sleep. Results The more the SPL from all sources (L_Aeq,15s) and the SPL exceeded for 90% of the measurement period (L_A90,15s) increased, the more heart rate also increased. No significant associations were observed between the maximum 1-s equivalent SPL associated with aircraft overflight (L_Amax,1s) and differences between the heart rate recorded during or 15 or 30 s after an aircraft noise event and that recorded before the event. On the other hand, a positive and significant association was found between L_Amax,1s and the heart rate amplitude calculated during an aircraft noise event. Results were unchanged when analyses were limited to participants who had lived more than five years in their present dwelling. Conclusion Our study shows that exposure to the maximum SPL linked to aircraft overflight affect the heart rate during sleep of residents near airports. However, further studies on a larger number of participants over several nights are needed to confirm these results. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Noise and Sleep)

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14 pages, 771 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Wind Turbine Noise and Sleep: Pilot Studies on the Influence of Noise Characteristics

by Julia Ageborg Morsing, Michael G. Smith, Mikael Ögren, Pontus Thorsson, Eja Pedersen, Jens Forssén and Kerstin Persson Waye

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(11), 2573; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15112573 - 17 Nov 2018

Cited by 25 | Viewed by 4903

Abstract

The number of onshore wind turbines in Europe has greatly increased over recent years, a trend which can be expected to continue. However, the effects of wind turbine noise on long-term health outcomes for residents living near wind farms is largely unknown, although sleep disturbance may be a cause for particular concern. Presented here are two pilot studies with the aim of examining the acoustical properties of wind turbine noise that might be of special relevance regarding effects on sleep. In both pilots, six participants spent five consecutive nights in a sound environment laboratory. During three of the nights, participants were exposed to wind turbine noise with variations in sound pressure level, amplitude modulation strength and frequency, spectral content, turbine rotational frequency and beating behaviour. The impact of noise on sleep was measured using polysomnography and questionnaires. During nights with wind turbine noise there was more frequent awakening, less deep sleep, less continuous N2 sleep and increased subjective disturbance compared to control nights. The findings indicated that amplitude modulation strength, spectral frequency and the presence of strong beats might be of particular importance for adverse sleep effects. The findings will be used in the development of experimental exposures for use in future, larger studies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Noise and Sleep)

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