Aircraft noise effects on sleep: Mechanisms, mitigation and research needs

Abstract

There is an ample number of laboratory and field studies which provide sufficient evidence that aircraft noise disturbs sleep and, depending on traffic volume and noise levels, may impair behavior and well-being during the day. Although clinical sleep disorders have been shown to be associated with increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, only little is known about the long-term effects of aircraft noise disturbed sleep on health. National and international laws and guidelines try to limit aircraft noise exposure facilitating active and passive noise control to prevent relevant sleep disturbances and its consequences. Adopting the harmonized indicator of the European Union Directive 2002/49/EC, the WHO Night Noise Guideline for Europe (NNG) defines four Lnight , outside ranges associated with different risk levels of sleep disturbance and other health effects ( < 30, 30-40, 40-55, and> 55 dBA). Although traffic patterns differing in number and noise levels of events that lead to varying degrees of sleep disturbance may result in the same Lnight , simulations of nights with up to 200 aircraft noise events per night nicely corroborate expert opinion guidelines formulated in WHO's NNG. In the future, large scale field studies on the effects of nocturnal (aircraft) noise on sleep are needed. They should involve representative samples of the population including vulnerable groups like children and chronically ill subjects. Optimally, these studies are prospective in nature and examine the long-term consequences of noise-induced sleep disturbances. Furthermore, epidemiological case-control studies on the association of nocturnal (aircraft) noise exposure and cardiovascular disease are needed. Despite the existing gaps in knowledge on long-term health effects, sufficient data are available for defining limit values, guidelines and protection concepts, which should be updated with the availability of new data.

Single and Combined Effects of Air, Road, and Rail Traffic Noise on Sleep and Recuperation

“…Therefore, although the effects of traffic noise on sleep and performance were subtle, it cannot be excluded that the consequences would be more severe in other settings, especially under the following conditions: chronic noise exposure, high traffic densities, high sound pressure levels, or vulnerable populations, (e.g., children, shift workers, or subjects with premorbid conditions, sleep disorders, a high sensitivity to noise, or problems adapting to noise). 6,7,12 Field studies are needed to validate our findings in a setting with higher ecologic validity.…”

“…The fact that cardiac arousals did not habituate across nights stresses their potential relevance for the genesis of longterm cardiovascular consequences of noise-induced sleep disturbance. 6,8,9 However, the noise-induced changes in heart rate SE refers to standard error; TST, total sleep time; *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001 after controlling for a false discovery rate, i.e., the expected fraction of null hypotheses rejected mistakenly, of 0.05(*), 0.01(**), and 0.001(***), respectively.…”

Calidad del sueño en población adulta expuesta al ruido del Aeropuerto El Dorado en Bogotá, 2012

“…En un estudio llevado a cabo en Filadelfia en el 2010, Basner, et al (6), encontraron que los pequeños cambios inducidos por el ruido en la estructura y la continuidad del sueño, eran suficientes para afectar de forma significativa la evaluación subjetiva de la calidad del sueño y la recuperación, lo cual coincide con los resultados del presente estudio en los que alrededor del 25 % de la población encuestada expresó una percepción subjetiva de mala calidad del sueño, en tanto que cerca del 40 % de la población con puntajes patológicos tuvo una latencia inadecuada, y, alrededor de 37 %, una eficiencia del sueño baja.…”

“…Según su estudio, los sujetos encuestados calificaron las noches en las que hubo exposición al ruido del tráfico aéreo como "más preocupantes" que aquellas afectadas por el ruido del tráfico terrestre, por lo que los autores concluyeron que las propiedades acústicas del ruido del tráfico aéreo podrían ser las responsables de los cambios en la estructura y la continuidad del sueño. Es posible que los eventos de ruido generados por el tráfico en carretera fueran demasiado cortos para ser percibidos conscientemente por los sujetos que se despertaron, mientras que los sucesos de ruido debidos al tráfico aéreo pudieron haber sido lo suficientemente largos (6).…”

“…Las escalas utilizadas se consideran instrumentos costo-efectivos para evaluar la asociación entre la calidad del sueño y el ruido (6). Para confirmar los hallazgos de este estudio, las investigaciones posteriores deberán evaluar la calidad del sueño mediante otros métodos, como la polisomnografía y la actigrafía, sugeridos por algunos autores.…”