EPA-600/1-77-010
February 1977
Environmental Health Effects Research Series
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RESEARCH REPORTING SERIES
Research reports of the Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, have been grouped into nine series. These nine broad cate-
gories were established to facilitate further development and application of en-
vironmental technology. Elimination of traditional grouping was consciously
planned to foster technology transfer and a maximum interface in related fields.
The nine series are.
1. Environmental Health Effects Research
2 Environmental Protection Technology
3. Ecological Research
4 Environmental Monitoring
5 Socioeconomic Environmental Studies
6. Scientific and Technical Assessment Reports (STAR)
7. Interagency Energy-Environment Research and Development
8. "Special" Reports
9. Miscellaneous Reports
This report has been assigned to the ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH EFFECTS RE-
SEARCH series This series describes projects and studies relating to the toler-
ances of man for unhealthful substances or conditions. This work is generally
assessed from a medical viewpoint, including physiological or psychological
studies In addition to toxicology and other medical specialities, study areas in-
clude biomedical instrumentation and health research techniques utilizing ani-
mals — but always with intended application to human health measures.
This document is available to the public through the National Technical Informa-
tion Service, Springfield, Virginia 22161.
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EPA-600/1-77-010
February 1977
MEASURES OF NOISE LEVEL: THEIR RELATIVE ACCURACY IN PREDICTING
OBJECTIVE AND SUBJECTIVE RESPONSES TO NOISE DURING SLEEP
by
Jerome S. Lukas
Stanford Research Institute
Menlo Park, California 94025
Contract No. 68-01-3120
Project Officer
George R. Simon
Health Effects Division
Office of Health and Ecological Effects
Washington, D. C. 20460
OFFICE OF HEALTH AND ECOLOGICAL EFFECTS
OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460
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DISCLAIMER
This report has been reviewed by the Health Effects Division, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, and approved for publication.
Approval does not signify that the contents necessairly reflect the
views and policies of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, nor
does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute
endorsement or recommendation of use.
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ABSTRACT
A review of domestic and foreign scientific literature on the effects
of noise on hunan sleeo indicates that no sleep disruption can be
predicted with good accuracy (correlation coefficients of about 0.80)
if the noise descriptor accounts for the freouency-weiqhted spectrum
and the duration of the noise. Units such as EdBA, EPNdB, and SENEL
are better predictors than a unit such as maximum dBA. Furthermore, no
sleep disruption can be predicted more accurately than arousal or
behavioral awakeninq responses.
Some evidence suqqests that questionnaires about subjective sleeo
quality should contain items dealinq with the subject's (a) sense of
well beinq on arising, (b) sense of the qeneral ouality of his sleep,
and (c) estimates of how long it took to fall asleeo. Scores on these
items can be summed to develon a Composite Sleen Quality measure.
Although the amount of evidence is limited, such Composite Sleep
Ouality is correlated highly (about 0.90) with Composite Noise Rating
(CNR) when units of EPNdB or EdBA are used to calculate CNR. fither
techniques for calculating the total niqhttime noise environment, such
as Lea and NNI, have some shortcominqs with resoect to their ability to
predict Composite Sleep Ouality.
ill
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CONTENTS
Abstract ill
LIST OF Illustrations vi
I INTRODUCTION 1
II REPORTS REVIEWED 3
III RESULTS
Factors Related to Noise Sensitivity 9
Noise Intensity Measures 13
Predicting Sleep Quality 20
IV CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ..... 29
BIBLIOGRAPHY 31
v
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ILLUSTRATIONS
Frequency of No Sleep Disruption at Various Noise Levels
in College and Middle Aged Men and Women 20
Frequency of Arousal or Awakening from Sleep in College
and Middle Aged Men and Women by Noise at Various
Intensities 21
Relative Subjective Disturbance of Sleep at Various
Total Nighttime Noise Levels Calculated in Units
of CNR 23
Relative Subjective Disturbance of Sleep at Various
Total Nighttime Noise Levels Calculated in Units
of Leq 24
Relative Subjective Disturbance of Sleep at Various
Total Nighttime Noise Levels Calculated in Units of NNI . . 25
TABLES
Design Characteristics of Noise Studies Providing
Data for this Report
Coefficients of Correlation between Responses to Noise
during Sleep and Selected Measures of Noise Intensity ... 16
VI
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I INTRODUCTION
Sleep disturbance by noise is a common complaint. Despite the prev-
alence of complaints, however, sleep investigators are not sure what the
implications of the complaints are with respect to physiological or
psychological health. On one hand, the degree of actual (measurable)
sleep disturbance is of minor significance when compared with the effects
of much higher noise levels or other stresses experienced daily at work
and at home. On the other hand, perhaps sleep disturbance is of major
significance if a person feels his sleep has been disturbed severely and,
as a consequence, feels lethargic, nervous, and unable to perform or
work at his usual level of efficiency. Our inability to provide conclu-
sive answers to the physiological and psychological implications of
sleep disturbance stems in part from the fact that investigators have
not been able to define and demonstrate the function, or functions, of
sleep, and in part from the fact that investigators have neither described
the physical characteristics of the stimuli uniformly nor used the same
response measures.
Consonant with this analysis, Lukas1 recently proposed a rationale
for and recommended use of a single measure of significant sleep distur-
bance (a change of the electroencephalographic pattern to at least one
"shallower" sleep stage or No Sleep Disruption) and also recommended a
metric (in units of EdBA or EPNdB) to describe the physical characteris-
tics of noise.
1J. S. Lukas, "Sleep and Noise: A literature Review and a Proposed
Criterion for Assessing Effect," J. Acoustical Soc..Amer. (December
1975), in press. This monograph provides a review of the experimental
literature and may be considered a part of this report.
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This report is a review of most of the recent experimental sleep
and noise literature.2 It provides some additional points to the earlier
scatter plot of the frequency of No Sleep Disruption at various noise
levels.1 In addition, we have developed a tentative composite measure
of subjective sleep quality and, in so far as the data permit, show its
relationship to composite measures of the nighttime noise environment.
Several reports, particularly those from Eastern European nations, were
requested but not received.
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II REPORTS REVIEWED
A list of all the papers reviewed is provided in the Bibliography.
Those not included or referenced in the body of this report have been
omitted for one or several of the following reasons: (a) The papers
inadequately (for our purposes) describe the physical characteristics of
the stimuli — telephones, bagpipes, doorbells, Chinese gong3--or names
spoken forward and backward at approximately the same intensity;4'5
(b) the papers present uncommon techniques for scoring the electroen-
cephalographic (EEC) response to stimuli ;6•7>8 (c) the studies confine
3W. P. Wilson and W.W.K. Zung, "Attention, Discrimination, and Arousal
During Sleep," Arch, gen. Psychiat., Vol. 15, pp. 523-528 (1966).
4
I. Oswald, A. M. Taylor, and M. Treismann, "Discriminative Responses to
Stimulation During Sleep," Brain, Vol. 83, pp. 440-453 (1960).
5G. W. Langford, R. Meddis, and A.J.D. Pearson, "Awakening Latency from
Sleep for Meaningful and Non-Meaningful Stimuli," Psychophysiology,
Vol. 11, pp. 1-5 (1974).
ST. E. LeVere et al., "Arousal from Sleep: The Differential Effect of
Frequencies Equated for Loudness," Physiology and Behavior, Vol. 12,
PP. 573-582 (1974).
7B. Metz and A. Muzet, "Effets propres et interaction de 1'elevation du
niveau sonore et de la temperature ambiante sur le sommeil," Centre
/
D'Etudes Bioclimatiques du CNRS, Strasbourg, France (April 1975).
8Y. Osada et al., "Sleep Impairment Caused by Short Time Exposure to
Continuous and Intermittent Noise," Bull. Inst. Publ. Health, Vol. 18,
pp. 1-9 (1969).
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stimulation to only certain sleep stages;9'10 and (d) the papers are
reviews .ll •
The research studies reviewed in detail, as well as a summary of
their major design characteristics, are listed in Table 1. Table 1,
particularly the Stimulus Type and PNL (perceived noise level) columns,
reveals the diversity of types and levels of stimuli studied in various
laboratories. Note, however, that about 75 percent of the test stimuli
were transportation noises, and 76 percent of these were from sub- or
supersonic jet aircraft. Therefore, it is reasonable to exercise some
caution in generalizing the results to situations other than transporta-
tion noise; to suggest however, the data presented in this report indi-
cate that similar results were obtained when nontransportation noises
were studied. For example, such stimuli as bursts of pink, shaped white
noise, and pure tones produced results consistent with those obtained
when transportation noises were the test stimuli.
PH. Firth, "Habituation during Sleep," Psychophysiology, Vol. 10,
pp. 43-51 (1973).
10F. B. Keefe, L. C. Johnson, and E. J. Hunter, "EEC and Autonomic Re-
sponse Pattern During Waking and Sleep Stages," Psychophysiology,
Vol. 8, pp. 198-212 (1971) .
11M. E. Dobbs, "Behavioral Responses to Auditory Stimulation during
Sleep," J. Sound Vibration, Vol. 20, pp. 467-476 (1972).
1SH. L. Williams, "Effects of Noise on Sleep: A Review," in Proceedings
International Congress on Noise as a Public Health Problem, W. D. Ward,
ed., pp. 501-511 (U.S. EPA No. 550/9-73-008, 1973).
lrJ. D. Miller, "Effects of Noise on People," pp. 58-78 (U.S. EPA No.
NTID 300.7, 1971).
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Table I
DESIGN CHARACTERISTICS OF NOISh STUDIES PROVIDING DATA tOR THIS REPORT
Code
Used in
A
X
»
•
X
«
0
anese Research
Effect of
Noise) (1971)
Collins and
lampietro
(1973)
(1973)
Herbert and
Wilkinson
(1973)
(1973)
Kramer et al.
(1971)
Ludlow et al .,
2 studies
(1972)
Lukas et al.
(1970)
75.0
Si.ul.ted sonic booms 68 0
57.0
tween clicks (1800 Hz)4 75.0
80.0
90.0
between pings (3500 Hz) 87.0
Shaped white noise n a.
Simulated sonic boom n.a
Simulated sonic booti i 64.7
Morgan and Rice . 67.7
' 71.1
Ludlow and Morgan | 72 5
I 78.0
* 68.0
1 79.0
( 80.0
Stimulus Characteristics Sublets
Duration" Number Numher Age Response
98.8 ! 10.3 order 121.8 50.5 63 8 8 males College age (') phvsio 1 ogn ^ 1
logical
79.0 0 284 8 at hourly inter- 88 0 12.5 35.7 24 males 8 each, 21-26, EEC, other
81.0 8.0 17.0 96.5 19.5 40.9 5 touplos s*+5
83. 05 FEt" Per'
93.0 See foot-) ,,,n . . ,,, , ,. , . , - ... , ._ , ., formance
98.0 note 6 i
L08.0
97.1 0.66 1113, fixed interval 127.6 62.8 71.4 20 m^les 18 to 33 physiological .
psychological
105.5' Con tin- An average of 8 112. 5 38.0 2 males 25 EEC, psvcho-
UOUE logical
To stage subjectexcluded)
shift t 12.6 39.1 2_ males 71)
.Sec
77.5 \ i 12/nigtit, ftxed in- 86.3 13.7 17.5 |
80.5 1 tensity, random 89 3 16.7 38 0 / 8 males 17 to 30 Behavlordl
83.9 / \ intervals 92.7 20.1 38.9 J fe
' ~°'5 s"b)e«lv,'
85.3 \ , tensity, random 92.3 18.8 38.8 , 8 malc-s 21 Co 30
90.8 1 ' intervals 97.8 24.3 41.6 *
78.01 20/night 1 1 18.8, 1 2* . 8, 50.8 2 females 7 and 8 EEG, bt-hav-
83.5 J 0.28 (130. 8 'oral awaken-
89.0) I2'night (116.6.122.6, 48.8 J males 41 and 54 ing
[22.8 J M25.6
Notes
n.ghts w,t,, no.se. No .nd.c.t.on of
ground n»35 dBA.
1 eve 1 , however, a subsequent report bv
pairs = 2 b
during tKe middle 30 nights, 10 nights
daily.
noise - 42 dBA.
awakened or changed sleep stage, white
3 adaptation nights followed by 3 test
and 1 control night (7 consecutive
nights in total), distributed noise
mglits (14 consecutive nights in
total), distributed noise and control
nights. Background noise »*>37 dBA."7
n.g^/veeK, the 2 stilus types
presenttd at a sing i s y
in steps over first 6 nights. Back-
ground noise "»35 dB,
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Lukas et al.
H <1971> Simulated some bo<»s
Lukas et al.
® (1972) Simulated sonic booms
© Jet flyover noise
_ Lukas et a 1 . Treated
(1973) DCS on Nacelles
.-. landing Untreated
U Nacelles
A Pink noise burst
a ££>" "' ™lap STOL "dell"e
B
^ Pink noise burst
Metz and Muzet Shaped white noise as
(1973)
and Schieber et al
( 1968)
(Schneider)
et al. (1972)
68.0 78.0 1
79.0 89.0 ' Usually 16/night,
63.0 85.0 sequence and level
69 0 91.0 at random
75.0 97 0
81.0 103.0
68.0 78.0
79.0 89.0 0.30 Averd e of io/ni ht
84 ° 95'° twice^t each level,
68 0 90 0 i
80.0 102.0 4.0
! 86.0 108 0
60.4 84.4 10.5
78 4 102.4 9.0 Average of 9/night
\ 78.9 103.0 7.5 d^ ^^ '
|59 9 73.8 3.3 ra" °mlZe
178 0 92.0 3.5
r
64.8 92.3
76 8 104.3 25.5
82'8 L1°-3 ' An average of 21,
63.0 90.4
75.0 102.4 9.3 '
t.0slty n.ghtly, ,n
random order
57.8 84.5 |
75 8 102.5 /
59.1 77.1-
71 1 89.1 2 1
77 1 95 1
80.0 106 1 8.0 80
65 0 91 1 80 80
ing, subjec- nights, followed by 20 noise-test
4 males 69 to 75
LEG, behav- 14 consecutive nights and 3 accom-
loral awaken- modation nights, of the 14, nights 1,
108'2 35'6 51'9 « female& 29 t0 49 tive quaUty aid'the remainder were test nights.
Background noise «-32 dBA.
EEC, behav- The same as in Lukas (1972).
ioral awaken-
109.0 34.4 50.3 4 males 46 to 58 8
EEC, behav- L6 consecutive nights. Nights 1, 2,
ioral awaken- 3, 4, 11, 12, and 16 were accommoda-
were test nights. Average background
tive, ECG, falling at 2.5 dB/s or 5 dB/s,
126 * J3 1 18 males 19 to 27 move;e[lts; 3 groups, low noise and low tempera-
ll1-9 [8 ' LO n •> „ ,0^ n,*hr-B •) no,«P n.ohrc
43 dBA.
Nights with impulse
-------
(uosuiqoa) - 95 Z
IPNd3 3}Pin:>iE3 03 pasn squioduMop gp-QI
1'69 5 99
333 aSailoj A]Tjemijd sajeiu ^]
(qqSiajj aoqoui)
CZ 03 61 saiFiuag 6
L £9 9'85 6'8tl
jo japjo '(g)
(H) 3TJJEU ^AFaq 30 an01
JS33 jnoq-g Suianp '00*?l
uasrt^aq asiou 'utiu/sasiou
8'1 = 8 'OOV2 PUB 0001 °33'
9'69 8'iei
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oo
Code
Used in
Figures Study Type dBA-Max
(1968) Traffice noise ?40.0
1 55 0
Factory noise i40.0
\ 55.0
Osada ec al. White continuous 40. 60
(1969)
White pulsed 40, 60
1/3 occavc at <<»< — "°- "°
125 "Z kued 40, 60
^Continuous 40, 60
3150 H* Ll,.d 40, 60
( 1972) Train noise 50.0
60.0
60.0
(1975) ing over a bridge 50.0
70.0
80.0
(1974) termination of J (mean)
(mean)
(1968) 0 to 86 dB in 10 s
72 0
Duration Number , Number Age
PNL' (seconds) per Night \ CNR' NNT ^7.5^ and Sex (years)
102.0 ously for garding fluctuations 100.0 55.0 5 males Students
87.0 6 hours 85.0 40.0
102. 0 100.0 55,0
87.8 Continu- 1 o£ each type in
77.6 =2.5 mm,
97 6 pulsed
56 2 - 5 mm,
76 2 10 s on
cc „ ,„ 106 7 34.1 45.3 5 males Students
55.9 and 10 s
75.9 off
76.0
96.0
75.8
95.8
76.3 J ^ 42 90.5 20.6 37.2
86.3 \ "* 100.5 30.6
74.5 ^
76.8 /
84.5 1
85.3 > 12 42 99.9 30.0 39.6
86.8 )
64.0 18 noises/night, once 76.6 2 8 30.1
74.0 every 20 minutes 86.6 12.8 30.9
94.0 106.6 32.8 43 .8
104 0 1 16.6 42 8 53.7
101.0 8.0 46 118.7 49 0 58.3 6 males and 45
females
intervals of 5, 10,
97.0 18 0 J V (bt'C "otes) H9.1 35.1 60.3 given
Response
Measures Notes
chemical trol--and one night in each of the
(blood, urine) other noise environments. Background
noise -.30 dBA (from 1975 paper).
lab, exposure on all 3 nights, be-
ginning each half-hour from 12 to
5 30 am. Background noise ** 30 dBA.
one night for each noise and level,
noise on from 12 00 to 2 00 and from
tive
ground noise = 42 dBA.
use = 44 dBA.
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Ill RESULTS
Factors Related to Noise Sensitivity
Reviews published in the Journal of Sound and Vibration,14 and by
the Environmental Protection Agency18 suggest that several factors affect
responses to noise during sleep. These responses may be manifested by
brief occurrences of certain EEC patterns, a change in sleep stage towards
shallower sleep, or behaviorally defined awakening. This reviewer found
little reason to delete or add to the factors affecting sensitivity to
noise during sleep. The factors are described briefly below.
(1) Age. The older the subject the more likely is he to
respond.
(2) Sex. Women tend to be more responsive than men at
comparable ages, but there is some indication that
college-age women are less responsive than college-
age men.
(3) Sleep stage. In general, people are most responsive
during sleep stage 1, next during stage 2, and then
during stages REM and Delta. To some extent, relative
sensitivity to noise during stages Delta and REM depends
upon the specific response measure used and the meaning
of the noise. In general, noise during stage Delta
elicits an EEC response at nearly the same intensity
needed to elicit that EEC response during stage REM,
but the subjects appear unable to respond behaviorally
to stimuli during stage Delta. This lack of behavioral
response is not apparent during stages REM or 2. Mean-
ingful noises (such as one's name or identifiable
14J. S. Lukas, "Awakening Effects of Simulated Sonic Booms and Aircraft
Noise on Men and Women," J. Sound and Vibration, Vol. 20, pp. 457-466
(1972).
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aircraft noises) reduce intensity thresholds for behav-
ioral responses during stages 2, Delta, and REM, but
the reduction is less in stage Delta than in the other
stages. The meaning of the noise appears to have little
effect upon thresholds for EEC responses -1 ^ s >:L 3
(4) Noise level. An ealier study15 suggested that predic-
tion of the probability of No Sleep Disruption or be-
havioral awakening is most accurate when the descriptor
of the noise accounts for the frequency weighted spectrum
-'-
(in terms such as dBA" or PNdB) and for stimulus duration
(the term E in units such as EdBA or EPNdB).^ Generally,
the higher the noise level, the greater the probability
of a response, no matter how the response may be defined.
(5) Frequency of noise occurrence. There is some question
about the effect of the frequency of noises on the re-
sponse frequencies. Schieber et al ,le reported that
traffic noises averaging about 1.8 auto and truck pas-
sages per minute at 61 dBA disturbed sleep more than
traffic noise averaging about 4.3 passages per minute
at 70 dBA. They also found that 32 jet takeoff and
flyover noises per night caused more sleep disturbance
than 16 noises. The jet noises were at comparable
levels. They suggested that the greater sleep distur-
bance by low frequency traffic was due to the difference
in level between Lcny and Liy . The difference was 20
dBA for the low frequency traffic but 10 dBA for the
high frequency traffic. Schieber et al. assume that
The reference level for all noise intensity measures in this report is
0.00002 N/m2.
t
Typically dBA, PNdB, or other similar measures indicate the maximum
level of intensity reached during a noise occurrence; EdBA or EPNdB
refers to an integration of the dBA or PNdB values present each 0.5 s
over the entire occurrence of the noise. See K. D. Kryter, The Effects
of Noise on Man, pp. 245-307 (Academic Press, New York, New York, 1970),
15J. S. Lukas, D. J. Peeler, and J. E. Davis, "Effects on Sleep of Noise
from Two Proposed STOL Aircraft," NASA Report No. CR-132564 (January
1975).
16J. P. Schieber et al., "Etude analytique en laboratoire de 1'influence
du bruit sur le sommeil," Centre d'Etudes Bioclimatiques du CNRS,
Strasbourg, France (April 1968) .
10
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the sleeper somehow adjusts to the average noise level
and responds on the basis of the differences between
the peak (L,^) and average (L^Qy) levels. Their ex-
planation fails to account for the background noise
levels (about 48 dBA) the sleeper experienced more often
and with longer duration under the low frequency traffic
condition. Perhaps a more accurate explanation may be
that the intensities of the infrequent traffic noises
were of a somewhat higher peak level (3-6 dBA; see
Ref. 16, Table B) and generally of longer duration
than the more frequent traffic noises.
It should be noted, however., that continuous1"7 or
very frequent18 noise throughout the night, even at
levels as high as 95 dBA,17 seems to cause little
change in the average durations of sleep stage. These
results suggest that generally healthy and young people,
in one way or another, are able to sleep reasonably well
despite adverse conditions. Anecdotal evidence of sleep-
ing habits gathered during wars and natural disasters
suggests as much. Thus, there may be cause to doubt
that the EEC measures of sleep quality used to date
adequately describe both the short and long term effects
of continuous sleep disturbance.
(6) Noise quality. There is clear evidence that inherently
meaningful sounds, such as one's name, or sounds that
acquire meaning, such as by instructions or condition-
ing, can awaken the sleeper at intensities lower
than those required for meaningless or neutral
sounds.3'4*5'19'20 To some extent the amount of
change in threshold for awakening is dependent upon
17T. D. Scott, "The Effects of Continuous, High Intensity, White Noise
on the Human Sleep Cycle," Psychophysiology, Vol. 9, pp. 227-232 (1972),
18L. C. Johnson et al., "Prolonged Exposure to Noise as a Sleep Pattern,"
in Proceedings International Congress on Noise as a Public Health
Problem, W. D. Ward, ed., pp. 559-574 (U.S. EPA No. 550/9-73-008, 1973),
19H. L. Williams, "The Problem of Defining Depth of Sleep," in Sleep and
Altered States of Consciousness, S. S. Kety, E. V. Evarts, and H. L.
Williams, eds., pp. 277-287 (Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore, Maryland,
1967)
20 W. B. Zimmerman, "Sleep Mentation and Auditory Awakening Thresholds,"
Psychophysiology, Vol. 6, pp. 540-549 (1970).
11
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the subject's motivation; motivation can be altered
by instructions, conditioning, or financial inducements.
(7) Response measures. EEC measures, such as K-complexes
or bursts of alpha, have been found most sensitive to
acoustic stimuli during sleep. Other autonomic responses
are less sensitive but show a consistent hierarchy over
the various sleep stages, that is, heart rate and periph-
eral vasoconstriction are less sensitive than EEC mea-
sures; respiration and electrodermal activity are less
sensitive than heart rate and peripheral vasoconstriction;
and motor responses are least sensitive.10 Simple motor
responses, such as pressing a microswitch taped to the
hand, occur at relatively low stimulus levels. Higher
stimulus levels are needed to elicit more complex be-
havior, such as verbal responses that indicate the
subject is aware of specific properties of some stim-
ulus,cl or more complex motor responses, such as reach-
ing for and pressing a switch attached to the headboard
of the bed.14
(8) Presleep activity. Conventional wisdom suggests that
active individuals would sleep "better" or more deeply
(more stage Delta and REM) and thus be less sensitive
to noise during sleep. Although the question of sensi-
tivity to noise after activity has not been studied
directly, Hauri22 found that six hours of exercise
(equivalent to traveling about 50 miles by bike and
about 1-1/2 hours of lifting 15-pound weights) had only
a small effect on the EEC measures of sleep quality
during the first 3-1/2 hours of sleep, that is, when
sleep stage Delta is most prevalent. In Mauri's28
study the same subjects exercised, relaxed, or studied
intensively during the six-hour presleep period.
Hauri found no significant differences between any of
the sleep EEC variables after the subjects performed
those activities, but did find that heart rates were
21 A. Rechtschaffen, P. Hauri, and M. Zeitlin, "Auditory Awakening Thres-
holds in Real or NREM Sleep Stages," Perceptual and Motor Skills,
Vol. 22, pp. 927-942 (1966).
22 P. Hauri, "Effects of Evening Activity on Early Night Sleep," Psycho-
physiology, Vol. 4, pp. 267-277 (1968).
12
-------
higher after exercising than they were after relaxing
or studying and remained higher even after 3-1/2 hours
of sleep. Because time in stages Delta or REM did not
increase significantly, it is reasonable to suggest
that average sensitivity to noise (regardless of sleep
stage) did not change.
If presleep activity consists of prolonged periods of
sleep loss (204 hours23 and 64 hours24), the amount of
time spent in stages Delta and REM increase, and an
increase of the arousal and stage change thresholds
can be anticipated. Williams et al.24 found large
increases in thresholds for evoked changes in EEC pat-
terns and for behavioral awakening in all of the sleep
stages. However, noise found in most environments is
unlikely to cause such prolonged losses of sleep.
Noise Intensity Measures
Two criterion responses to nighttime noise are used commonly:
arousal or behavioral awakening, and no-change-in-sleep-pattern. Arousal
is defined as an EEC pattern having some or all the characteristics of an
awake EEC,25 while behavioral awakening requires a specific motor or ver-
bal response. Typically, arousal occurs prior to or coincidentally with
23P. Naitoh et al., "Interpretation of Non-Sleep EEC and Sleep EEC Pattern
in Recovery Nights after 204 Hours of Prolonged Wakefulness," Psycho-
physiology, Vol. 4, p. 392 (1968).
24H. L. Williams et al., "Responses to Auditory Stimulation, Sleep Loss
and the EEC Stages of Sleep," EEC Clin. Neurophysiol., Vol. 16, pp. 269-
279 (1964).
2SA. Rechtschaffen and A. Kales, eds., A Manual of Standardized Termi-
nology, Techniques and Scoring System for Sleep Stages of Human Subjects,
NIH Publication No. 204 (1968).
13
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behavioral awakening. For our purposes, we can consider these responses
essentially equivalent because, on one hand, if EEC arousal is the re-
sponse of interest, behavioral awakening follows frequently if it is
required; on the other hand, if behavioral awakening is the desired
response and it occurs in response to noise, it matters little whether
an arousal occurred because the criterion response was obtained. Further-
more, behavioral awakening implicitly indicates a greater degree of cere-
bral activation and control than does EEC arousal alone.
A rationale for and a definition of a more inclusive criterion re-
sponse, No Sleep Disruption, has been developed recently.1 Briefly, No
Sleep Disruption specifically includes brief, transient changes in EEC
pattern that occur normally in the different sleep stages; examples of
such changes are K-complexes during stage 2, brief bursts of alpha during
stages 1 or REM, and brief increases in muscular tension levels or brief
movements of the body during any of the stages. Thus, a response is
any EEC change or behavior indicating the subject has shifted from one
sleep stage to some other shallower stage within one minute of stimulus
termination. If the effects of noise are described in terms of No Sleep
Disruption many other responses (stage changes, arousals, behavioral
awakenings) are subsumed. Investigators may wish to study particular
There is some controversy on this point (see, for example, Refs. 10,
12, 26). If the motor response requires little conscious effort on
the subject's part, the motor response may occur without indication
of EEC arousal. If the motor response is relatively complex, such as
reaching for a response switch, calling out some prelearned material,
or repeating some auditory or visual stimulus pattern, EEC arousal is
likely to occur in conjunction with the behavioral response.
E. L. Williams, H. C. Morlock, Jr., and J. V. Morlock, "Instrumental
Behavior During Sleep," Psychophysiology, Vol. 2, pp. 208-216 (1966).
14
-------
responses, for example stage changes, but it is recommended that in
addition to the particular responses, results on the frequency of No
Sleep Disruption be provided.
Frequencies of arousals or behavioral awakenings and No Sleep Dis-
ruption have been correlated with several commonly used measures of
noise intensity to discern which intensity measure best predicts the
different response frequencies. The results are shown in Table 2. We
have distinguished between college-age (about 20-25 years of age) and
middle-age (about 30-60 years of age) subjects, because earlier studies
indicate that age affects response frequencies. Because women, children,
and the old have been studied rarely, there are too few data to establish
reliable coefficients for these age and sex groups. Therefore, the re-
sponse data used to calculate the coefficients include women in the ap-
propriate age groups, but not the very young or old. We have included
data provided by Osada et al.;27 Anon.;38 Thiessen;29 Schneider;30
27 Y. Osada et al., "Experimental Study on the Sleep Interference by
Train Noise," Bull. Inst. Publ. Health (1975), in press.
S8Annon., "Effects of Aircraft Noise on Sleep," Part 4, pp. 45-69, Re-
port of the Effect of Noise, 1970 (March 1971). This report was kindly
provided by Dr. Y. Osada of the Japanese Institute of Public Health.
29G. J. Thiessen, "Effects of Noise During Sleep," in Physiological
Effects of Noise, B. L. Welch and A. S. Welch, eds., pp. 271-275
(Plenum Press, New York, New York, 1970).
30N. 0-M. Schneider, "Evaluation subjective du sommeil normal ou
perturbe par le bruit, relations avec certains indicateurs physio-
logiques et traits de personnalite," Ph.D. thesis, Universite Louis
Pasteur, Strasbourg, France (December 1973).
15
-------
Table 2
COEFFICIENTS OF CORRELATION BETWEEN RESPONSES
TO NOISE DURING SLEEP AND SELECTED MEASURES
OF NOISE INTENSITY
Age Group
College (22)*
Middle age (35)*
College and middle age
College (23)*
Middle age (35)*
College and middle age
No Sleep Disruption
Intensity Measures
Max dBA
-0.769
-0.699
-0.692
EdBA*
-0.796
-0.761
-0.789
EPNdB*
-0.766
-0.817
-0.812
SENEL+
-0.754
-0.717
-0.761
Arousal or Behavioral Awakening
0.460
0.746
0.581
0.475
0.795
0.615
0.287
0.809
0.500
0.404
0.819
0.518
EdBA and EPNdB calculated according to technique described
by Kryter,,39 , pp. 472-484.
t
SENEL (Single Event Noise Exposure Level) = Lmax + 10 log-,Q r
where Lmax is in units of dBA, and t is noise duration
measured between the 10 dB downpoint (Ref. 40, p. A-29) .
Number of data points.
16
-------
Collins and lampietro;3! Lukas et ai. ;IB ,38 ,33 ,34 ..-B Kramer et al.;3B
and Zimmerman.50 Rather than presenting stimuli at one or several in-
tensities and obtaining response frequencies as did most investigators,
Kramer et al .?6 and Zimmerman20 increased stimulus levels until the
desired response (a stage change, arousal, or behavioral awakening) was
obtained. Therefore, to incorporate their data it was necessary to as-
sume that the thresholds reported were the mean intensity at which all
subjects either changed sleep stages36 or were aroused or behaviorally
awakened .3<^ -20
Two conclusions can be drawn from the coefficients shown in Table 2:
(1) the frequency of No Sleep Disruption in both age groups is predicted
more accurately by the various measures of intensity than is the frequency
of behavioral awakening or arousal, and (2) arousal and behavioral awaken-
ing can be predicted more accurately in middle-age than in college-age
subjects.
Of greater importance than these two conclusions, perhaps, is a
statistical comparison of certain pairs of correlations insofar as the
31 W. E. Collins and P. F. lampietro, "Effects on Sleep of Hourly Presenta-
tions of Simulated Sonic Booms-(50 N/M2)," in Proceedings International
Congress on Noise as a Public Health Problem, W. D. Ward, ed., pp. 541-
548 (U.S. EPA No. 550/9-73-008, 1973).
32J. S. Lukas and K. D. Kryter, "Awakening Effects of Simulated Sonic
Booms and Subsonic Aircraft Noise on Six Subjects, 7 to 72 Years of
Age," NASA Report No. CR-1599 (May 1973).
33J. S. Lukas, M. E. Dobbs, and K. D. Kryter, "Disturbance of Human
Sleep by Subsonic -Jet Aircraft Noise and Simulated Sonic Booms," NASA
Report No. CR-1780 (July 1971).
34J. S. Lukas and M. E. Dobbs, "Effects of Aircraft Noises on the Sleep
of Women," NASA Report No. CR-2041 (June 1972).
35J. S. Lukas, D. J. Peeler, and M. E. Dobbs, "Arousal from Sleep by
Noises from Aircraft with and without Acoustically Treated Nacelles,"
NASA Report No. CR-2279 (July 1973).
36M. Kramer et al., "Noise Disturbance and Sleep," DoT Report No. FAA-
NO-70-16 (1971); see also T. Roth, M. Kramer, and J. Trinder, "Noise-
Sleep and Post Sleep Behavior," paper presented at the American
Psychiatric Association Meeting, Washington, D.C., 1971.
17
-------
comparison may suggest how noise intensity should be described to best
predict human responses to noise. The difference in coefficients (ag-
gregated over the age groups) for maximum dBA (-0.692) versus EdBA (-0.789)
indicates the latter to be statistically greater (t = 2.13, p = 0.025;
one-tailed test);37 the coefficient of correlation of noise levels when
measured in units of dBA and EdBA is 0.851. The larger difference be-
tween the EPNdB and SENEL coefficients (-0.812 versus -0.761) was sta-
tistically significant (t = 2.89 with 54 degrees of freedom,, with a
correlation of 0.974 between levels in units of EPNdB and SENEL; p = 0.005),
but the smaller difference (0.023 units) between EdBA and EPNdB is not sta-
tistically significant (t = 1.58 with 54 degrees of freedom). The coef-
ficient of correlation between intensity measured in units of EdBA and
EPNdB is 0.983. Therefore, to predict the frequency of No Sleep Disrup-
tion as a result of noise, we should take the duration of the noise into
account, and use EdBA, EPNdB, and SENEL as predictors. In addition, there
is somewhat greater predictive accuracy if EPNdB, rather than SENEL, is
*
used as the unit of noise intensity.
In comparing the two response measures, we find that frequency of
No Sleep Disruption can be predicted more accurately than frequency of
arousal or behavioral awakening if units of EdBA are used (No Sleep
f
Disruption versus arousal or behavioral awakening and units of EdBA—
0.615 versus -0.789, t = 3.00, p = 0.005), but not if units of max dBA
are used (units of max dBA--0.581 versus -0.692, t = 1.63, not signifi-
cant) . However, the generally larger magnitude of the coefficients
found in the No Sleep Disruption section in Table 2 suggests that this
See J. S. Lukas, "Assessment of Noise Effects on Human Sleep," paper
presented at the American Psychological Association Convention, Chicago,
Illinois, 31 August 1975.
The signs of the coefficients were not used in these calculations.
:7H. M. Walker and J. Lev, Statistical Inference, p. 257 (Henry Holt & Co.,
New York, New York, 1953).
18
-------
response can be predicted more accurately than the frequency of arousal
and behavioral awakening.
The coefficient of correlation between the frequency of No Sleep
Disruption and the frequency of arousal or behavioral awakening cal-
culated across two age groups was -0.777. Thus, as might be expected,
as the frequency of arousal or awakening increases, the simultaneous
frequency of No Sleep Disruption decreases. This moderately high cor-
relation indicates that our earlier suggestion1 that No Sleep Disruption
be used as a criterion measure against which to assess the effect of
noise has merit because it is sensitive to both significant disruption
in sleep pattern details and arousal and awakening.
Figures 1 and 2 permit a comparison of the distributions of No Sleep
Disruption and of arousal or awakening in the two age groups caused by
the same types of noise at various intensities. In Figure 1 it appears
that Schneider's30 data are deviant, that is, the sleep of her subjects
was disrupted less than expected; in Figure 2 Schneider's subjects also
showed a lower than expected frequency of arousal, as did the subjects
of Osada et al.37 However, Kramer's36 and Zimmerman's20 subjects were
awakened much more frequently than expected. This high frequency of
arousal was probably caused by increasing the intensity of the stimulus
until an arousal was obtained. This procedure makes the subjects appear
more sensitive than they would be if single noise bursts occurred at
random intensities and intervals.1 It is not immediately obvious why
the subjects of Schneider and Osada et al. were aroused relatively in-
frequently. Perhaps in the experiments of Osada et al. the subjects did
not "hear" the 20-s bursts of noise that occurred every 20 minutes until
the noise attained levels the subjects could not "ignore." Consistent
with this analysis is the report by Osada et al., that their subjects
noted an increase (double or more) in the number of noises heard only
when the highest noise levels (about 98 and 108 EPNdB) occurred.
-------
Nevertheless, Figures 1 and 2 illustrate why, on the basis of available
data, the frequency of No Sleep Disruption can be predicted more accu-
rately than the frequency of arousal and behavioral awakening.
60
80 90 100
NOISE LEVEL — EPNdB
110
120
130
SA-4050-6
FIGURE 1 FREQUENCY OF NO SLEEP DISRUPTION AT VARIOUS NOISE
LEVELS IN COLLEGE AND MIDDLE AGED MEN AND WOMEN
(SEE TABLE 1 FOR STUDY AND STIMULUS CODE)
Predicting Sleep Quality
Schneider's?0 subjects filled out several questionnaires about the
quality of their sleep, and their responses were analyzed to determine
common factors. Three types of questions were found to be common and
to explain about 77 percent of the total variance in the sleep quality
data. The three factors, listed in order of relative importance, were:
(1) feelings of well being on arousal, (2) feelings about the general
20
-------
70
80 90 100
NOISE LEVEL — EPNdS
110
120 130
SA-4050-7
FIGURE 2
FREQUENCY OF AROUSAL OR AWAKENING FROM SLEEP IN COLLEGE AND
MIDDLE AGED MEN AND WOMEN BY NOISE AT VARIOUS INTENSITIES (SEE
TABLE 1 FOR THE STUDY AND STIMULUS CODE)
21
-------
quality of sleep, and (3) an estimate of how long it took to fall asleep.
Using these findings as a lead, studies of noise-disturbed sleep that
included questions pertinent to all or some of the three factors were
*
isolated. For each study a Composite Sleep Quality score was calculated
and the percentage of change in Composite Sleep Quality (relative to
baseline or nights without noise) were correlated with the composite
level of noise present during the noise nights.
Figures 3, 4, and 5 permit comparison of the distributions of changes
in Composite Sleep Quality when the composite noise levels at night are
calculated in units of CNR (Composite Noise Rating; Kryter),39 L
eq(7.5)
*
In most of the studies the subjects marked a line indicating their
position on each factor on a continuum ranging from good to bad, for
example. The individual item score was the relative position of the
subject's mark on the line. The Composite Sleep Quality score was
simply the sum of the scores obtained on each question dealing with
each factor. This procedure of summing permits questions with the
greatest validity to contribute most weight to the composite score.
Some studies included several questions about a single factor. In
this case, an average score was calculated for each factor, and the
averages were summed to obtain the composite score. Because investi-
gators used different scales to assess quality (Schneider,30 for ex-
ample, used a scale of +60 to -60; Herbert38 used a 10-cm line, where
a score of 50 mm was analogous to a normal sleep night) and all did
not include questions about each of the three factors, a percentage
of change score calculated with respect to Composite Sleep Quality on
a night (or nights) without noise was used in our analysis.
38M. Herbert and R. T. Wilkinson, "The Effects of Noise-Disturbed Sleep
on Subsequent Performance," in Proceedings International Congress on
Noise as a Public Health Problem, W. D. Ward, ed., pp. 527-539 (U.S.
EPA No. 550/9-73-008, 1973); and M. Herbert, "Some Determinants of
Subjectively Rated Sleep Quality," Brit. J. Psychol. (1975), in press.
39 K. D. Kryter, The Effects of Noise on Man, pp. 484-485 (Academic Press,
New York, New York, 1970).
22
-------
-10 —
-20 —
> -30
H
_l
3 -40
O
Q-
u -50
uj -60
H
C/3
O
O
u
-70
-80
-90
-100
-110
60
N B.
Lukas et al., 1971, Change Averaged Over
Middle-aged and Old Subjects (Table XXIX)
Lukas and Dobbs, 1972, Women,
Weighted Average (Table 18)
70
80
90 100 110
NOISE LEVEL — CNR
120
130 140
SA-4050-9
FIGURE 3 RELATIVE SUBJECTIVE DISTURBANCE OF SLEEP AT VARIOUS TOTAL
NIGHTTIME NOISE LEVELS CALCULATED IN UNITS OF CNR (SEE
TABLE 1 FOR STUDY AND STIMULUS CODE)
(Equivalent Level; EPA),40 and NNI (Noise Number Index; Burns),41 respec-
tively. A reasonably systematic relationship is apparent for both the
CNR and NNI measures and the change in Composite Sleep Quality, but is
less apparent for the L measure, although the coefficient associated
eq
with this measure is high (0.899). As illustrated in Figure 4, large
40 U.S. EPA, "Information on Levels of Environmental Noise Requisite to
Protect Public Health and Welfare with an Adequate Margin of Safety,"
pp. A-12 and A-16 (EPA No. 550/9-74-004, 1974).
41 W. Burns, Noise and Man, pp. 225-226 (John Murray, London, 1968).
23
-------
D
a
a.
LLJ
LU
O
z
LU
z
I
u
-10 —
-20 —
-30 —
-40
-50
LU
t -60
«
O
a.
-70
-80
-90
-100
-110
20
30
40 50
NOISE LEVEL — Leg 7.5 hours
60
70
SA-4050-10
FIGURE 4 RELATIVE SUBJECTIVE DISTURBANCE OF SLEEP AT VARIOUS TOTAL
NIGHTTIME NOISE LEVELS CALCULATED IN UNITS OF Leq (SEE
TABLE 1 FOR STUDY AND STIMULUS CODE)
24
-------
D
a
a.
HI
LU
UJ
H
in
O
Q.
5
O
O
UJ
O
z
<
O
10
o®-
-10 —
-20 -^
-, -30
-40
-50
-60
-70
-80
-90
-100
-110
El
r = -0.711
SLOPE = -0.679
32 34
'
BACKGROUND NOISE LEVELS
IN dBA
10
20
30 40
NOISE LEVEL
50
60
70
80
NNI
SA-4050-11
FIGURE 5 RELATIVE SUBJECTIVE DISTURBANCE OF SLEEP AT VARIOUS TOTAL
NIGHTTIME NOISE LEVELS CALCULATED IN UNITS OF NNI (SEE
TABLE 1 FOR STUDY AND STIMULUS CODE)
25
-------
decreases in subjective sleep quality occurred at low (compared to the
background) noise levels. The inconsistency between subjective sleep
quality and composite noise levels in units of L is due to the fact
eq
that the stimuli used had very short durations (see Table 1) compared
with the total time (7.5 hours in our calculations) during the night.
Therefore, in calculating L , large negative values were subtracted
eq
from L levels, resulting in L levels below background level. To
max eq
correct this situation, the background level was assumed to be L ,
max
and present for approximately 7.5 hours, and the stimuli added only
slightly to the L . For example, in the Ludlow and Morgan42 studies
eq
the background level was about 37 dBA (or L =37 dBA), and the eight
eq
simulated sonic booms of 62.5 dBA--each with a duration of about 0.5 s--
contributed only 0.2 to total nighttime L , _ (37.2 dBA); booms 10 dBA
eq(7.5)
higher (72.5 dBA) resulted in a L = 38.8 dBA. Thus, it appears.
eq(7.5)
on the basis of evidence presently available, that L may not be useful
eq
in predicting Composite Sleep Quality when noise levels are low and of
short duration compared to the background level.
*
The formulas were
(1) L = L +10 log -~- , and
eq max 10 Z.Jl
(2) L = L +10 log ~ .
eq max 10 T
Formula (1) was used if the noise had a triangular shape and formula (2)
was used if the noise was a square pulse. t/T is the fraction of time
the noise was present, T = 7.5 hours, n is the number of noise bursts,
L is maximum noise level in dBA, and noise duration -t- is the time
max
between the 10 dB downpoints.
4SJ. E. Ludlow and P. A. Morgan, "Behavioral Awakening and Subjective
Reactions to Indoor Sonic Booms," J. Sound and Vibration, Vol. 25,
pp. 479-495 (1972) .
26
-------
*
NNI has deficiencies similar to those of L . The original NNI
eq
technique specifies that units of maximum PNdB be used in the calcula-
tions; in other words., the durations of the noises are suggested to be
of little importance. The data presented herein suggest that if EPNdB
units were used to calculate NNI, better predictions of sleep disturbance
should result. However, under certain noise conditions, if EPNdB or
EdBA are used to calculate NNI, the NNI for the noise may be less than
the NNI for the background. For example, presume ten noise bursts of
63 PNdB (50 dBA) each, and each burst of 10-s duration (between the
10 dB downpoints). The NNI is about 15 (in units of EPNdB) for a back-
ground level of 48 PNdB (35 dBA), whereas 10 bursts of noise are equiv-
alent to a NNI of 10.8 (in EPNdB units). Twenty noise bursts, each of
50 dBA, or 5 bursts, each of 60 dBA, are required to produce a NNI equiv-
alent to that of the background. Because of this inconsistency, the
background noise levels in Figure 5 are shown in units of dBA, not in
NNI units.
NNI (Noise and Number Index) = average peak noise level + 15 login N - 80,
where average peak noise level is the logarithmic average.
1 \~^
Logarithmic average peak noise level = 10 log ~ 7
10 N f j
io10
1
where L = peak noise level of each noise, and N = number of noises
(after Burns, 1968, pp. 225-226). EPNdB levels were used to calculate
CNR and NNI. Because Leq specifies that duration between the 10-dB
downpoints be used to determine t (the time the noise was on) partic-
ularly when the noises are more than 10 dB above background noise levels,
a duration correction was not needed.
27
-------
In contrast, Kryter's Formula 8 (p. 484)39 for computing CNR was
found to be a reasonable metric for calculating background levels, and
if
his Formula 7 (p. 484) was a compatible technique for calculating night-
time noise exposure.
A technique for calculating a composite of the background noise and
randomly occurring noise peaks is needed because laboratory experience
indicates that subjects adapt to fairly low levels (below about 40 dBA)
of constant background noise and, after adaptation, sleep "normally."
Normality is defined as the usual sleep pattern for any particular sub-
ject, and for healthy subjects their sleep patterns can be compared and
assessed with respect to the patterns of normative samples. ' '4
CNR (Composite Noise Rating) = [(EPNL + 10 log1Q 0^ + ...
(EPNL + 10 Iogi0 0 )] -2, where EPNL = frequency weighted spectrum
and duration of the noises 1 through n, EPNdB calculated using 0.5 sec
as the reference duration, and 0^ through On are the number of occur-
rences of each noise (Kryter, Formula 7, p. 484).
431. Feinberg, "Effects of Age on Human Sleep Patterns," in Sleep: Physi-
ology and Pathology, A. Kales, ed., pp. 39-52 (J. B. Lippincott Co.,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1969) .
44W. B. Webb, "Twenty-Four-Hour Sleep Cycling," in ibid., pp. 53-65.
46W. B. Webb, "Sleep Behavior as a Biorhythm," in Biological Rhythms
and Human Performance, W. P. Calquhoun, ed., pp. 149-177 (Academic
Press, New York, New York, 1971).
28
-------
IV CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
(1) In a broad sample of the population, available evidence
indicates that units of EdBA, EPNdB, and SENEL can pre-
dict the frequency or probability of No Sleep Disturbance
to nighttime noise with nearly equivalent accuracies.
EPNdB appears to be slightly more accurate than EdBA and
more accurate than SENEL. Units that do not account for
stimulus duration, such as maximum dBA or PNdB, are far
less accurate than those that do.
(2) Although we are able to predict the frequency of be-
havioral awakening or arousal in middle-aged populations
with reasonable accuracy if stimulus duration and intensity
are accounted for, these predictions are far less accurate
for college-aged populations. Across the two age groups
the accuracy of predicting arousal or awakening is gener-
ally poor, and units such as maximum dBA are no more accu-
rate than units such as EdBA.
(3) There is evidence that questionnaires about subjective
sleep quality should include items about the subject's
(a) feelings of well-being on arousal, (b) feelings of
general sleep quality, and (c) an estimate of how long
it took to fall asleep, The answers to these questions
should permit the subject to mark his response on a con-
tinuum ranging from, for example, good to bad, or better
(longer) than normal to far worse (shorter) than normal.
The quality of sleep for each item may then be propor-
tional to the distance from some neutral point along
the continuum. A simple sum of the scores on each item
can be used as a measure of Composite Sleep Quality.
(4) Although the available evidence is limited, Composite
Sleep Quality apparently can be predicted with reasonable
accuracy from measures of nightly composite noise levels.
Among the three composite noise measures calculated, it
appears at this time that CNR is best able to predict
changes in Composite Sleep Quality, when CNR is calculated
using EdBA or EPNdB as the basic unit of noise measurement.
29
-------
(5) Additional studies of the reliability of the Composite
Sleep Quality measure, and of the relationship of sub-
jective sleep quality measure to composite noise level
measures are recommended.
30
-------
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38
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TECHNICAL REPORT DATA
(Please read Instructions on the reverse before completing)
1. REPORT NO.
EPA-600/1-77-010
3. RECIPIENT'S ACCESSION NO.
4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE
MEASURES OF NOISE LEVEL:
Predict!nq Objective and
Noise During Sleep
5. REPORT DATE
Their Relative Accuracy in
Subjective Responses to
February 1977 issuing date
6. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION CODE
7. AUTHOR(S)
Jerome S. Lukas
8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NO.
9. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME AND ADDRESS
Stanford Research Institute
Menlo Park, California 94025
10. PROGRAM ELEMENT NO.
1GA085
11. CONTRACT/GRANT NO.
68-01-3120
12. SPONSORING AGENCY NAME AND ADDRESS
13. TYPE OF REPORT AND PERIOD COVERED
Office of Health and Ecological Effects - Wash., DC
Office of Research and Development
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20460
Final
14. SPONSORING AGENCY CODE
EPA/600/18
15. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES
16. ABSTRACT
A review of domestic and foreign scientific literature on the effects of noise on
human sleep indicates that no sleep disruption can be predicted with good accuracy
(correlation coefficients of about 0.80) if the noise descriptor accounts for the
frequency-weighted spectrum and the duration of the noise. I'nits such as EdBA,
EPNdB, and SENEL are better predictors than a unit such as maximum dBA. Furthermore
no sleep disruption can be predicted more accurately than arousal or behavioral
awakening responses.
Some evidence suggests that questionnaires about subjective sleep quality should
contain items dealing with the subject's (a) sense of well being on arising, (b)
sense of the general quality of his sleep, and (c) estimates of how long it took
to fall asleep. Scores on these items can be summer to develop a Composite Sleep
Ouality measure. Although the amount of evidence is limited, such Composite Sleep
Ouality is correlated highly (about 0.90) with Composite Noise Ratinq (CNR) when
units of EPNdB or EdBA are used to calculate CNR. Other techniques for calculating
the total nighttime noise environment, such as Lea and NNI, have some shortcomings
with respect to their ability to predict Composite Sleep Ouality.
17.
KEY WORDS AND DOCUMENT ANALYSIS
DESCRIPTORS
b.IDENTIFIERS/OPEN ENDED TERMS C. COSATI Field/Group
Noise (sound)
Behavior
Sleep (Arousal)
20A
05E
06C
13. DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT
Release to Public
19 SECURITY CLASS (This Report)
Unclassified
21. NO OF PAGES
45
20. SECURITY CLASS (This page)
Unclassified
22. PRICE
EPA Form 2220-1 (9-73)
39
,US GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1977—757-056/5606
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