Photo credit: Stas Knop
by Arline L. Bronzaft, Ph.D., Board of Directors, GrowNYC, Co-founder, The Quiet Coalition, and Honorary Chair, Quiet American Skies
Readers of our posts already know that there are studies that link aircraft noise to loss of sleep, but I believe this study discussed in Science Daily will be of particular interest. A group of scientists from the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom used questionnaires and data from wearable devices that tracked subjects’ movements during sleep to get a fuller picture of sleep behavior. They also collected data from a large population that lived near four airports, and were thus exposed to high levels of aircraft noise — with an average of 55 dB or more.
The researchers found that high levels of aircraft noise led to increased movement during sleep, which they viewed as a sign of sleep disruption. The subjects also had “disrupted sleep-wake cycles” which is indicative of less regular sleep rhythms. What do these disrupted sleep-wake patterns indicate? The researchers tell us that these patterns have been linked to diabetes, obesity and a greater risk of mental health problems. Sometimes people may not be aware of their disturbed sleep, but the condition can still adversely affect their health.
Lead researcher Dr. Anna Hansel believes that the large number of subjects in the study and the methodology (wearing devices that record sleep disturbances) distinguishes it from previous studies. She adds that while the results demonstrate poorer sleep for subjects exposed to aircraft noise, it did not affect the length of time people slept.
I was pleased to see that the article added that greater sleep disturbances lead to adverse health effects, which may worsen if airports increase night flights. Attention must indeed be paid to research linking aircraft noise to deleterious health effects.
