U.S. field research on nighttime sleep disturbance

Abstract

This paper provides a review of field research on nighttime sleep disturbance in residential communities conducted primarily in the U.S. over the past decade. It compares the methodology for studying sleep disturbance which has evolved during this series of research projects with the research approach used historically in Europe and elsewhere. A new dose–response relationship is offered, based on a meta-analysis of a database developed from field research around civilian airports and military airbases. This paper presents the details of this database meta-analysis. The new sleep disturbance prediction curve is recommended as an update to the interim curve adopted by the U.S. Federal Interagency Committee on Noise (FICON) in 1992. At that time, there was a lack of consensus in both U.S. and European scientific communities concerning whether both laboratory and field research data should be used in the development of a new prediction curve. The new curve is based solely on field study data and a ‘‘percent awakened’’ as an objective measure of sleep disturbance. Thus, it should more accurately predict sleep disturbance in residential environments than the previous FICON curve. It is hoped that additional research will validate this new curve and further investigate habituation in newly exposed communities.