Before-after field study of effects of wind turbine noise on polysomnographic sleep parameters.
TL;DR: The result of this study based on advanced sleep recording methodology together with extensive noise measurements in an ecologically valid setting cautiously suggests that there are no major changes in the sleep of participants who host new industrial WTs in their community.
Abstract: Wind is considered one of the most advantageous alternatives to fossil energy because of its low operating cost and extensive availability. However, alleged health-related effects of exposure to wind turbine (WT) noise have attracted much public attention and various symptoms, such as sleep disturbance, have been reported by residents living close to wind developments. Prospective cohort study with synchronous measurement of noise and sleep physiologic signals was conducted to explore the possibility of sleep disturbance in people hosting new industrial WTs in Ontario, Canada, using a pre and post-exposure design. Objective and subjective sleep data were collected through polysomnography (PSG), the gold standard diagnostic test, and sleep diary. Sixteen participants were studied before and after WT installation during two consecutive nights in their own bedrooms. Both audible and infrasound noises were also concurrently measured inside the bedroom of each participant. Different noise exposure parameters were calculated (LAeq, LZeq) and analyzed in relation to whole-night sleep parameters. Results obtained from PSG show that sleep parameters were not significantly changed after exposure. However, reported sleep qualities were significantly (P = 0.008) worsened after exposure. Average noise levels during the exposure period were low to moderate and the mean of inside noise levels did not significantly change after exposure. The result of this study based on advanced sleep recording methodology together with extensive noise measurements in an ecologically valid setting cautiously suggests that there are no major changes in the sleep of participants who host new industrial WTs in their community. Further studies with a larger sample size and including comprehensive single-event analyses are warranted.
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TL;DR: This is the first study to describe the phenomenon by assessing the prevalence and severity of these wind turbine infrasound related symptoms as well as factors associated with being symptomatic.
9 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted in the vicinity of five wind power production areas in Finland in 2015-2016 to assess the association between exposure to wind turbines and the prevalence of self-reported symptoms, diseases and medications.
8 citations
06 Nov 2018
TL;DR: Light is shed on the different quantification approaches of human response to wind farm noise characteristics and on the quality of current evidence regarding the effect of WFN on annoyance and sleep disruption.
Abstract: Despite the significance of listening tests in identifying the human response to wind farm noise (WFN), little attention has been paid to methodological approaches relevant to WFN listening tests to date. Moreover, evidence on the potential adverse effects of WFN is still not well established. This paper thereby sheds light on the different quantification approaches of human response to WFN characteristics. There is also a discussion on the quality of current evidence regarding the effect of WFN on annoyance and sleep disruption. In the context of listening tests, separating WFN characteristics can be beneficial in many ways. Firstly, acceptable threshold levels for each component of WFN for daytime annoyance and night-time sleep disturbance can be quantified. Second, the most annoying characteristic of WFN can be identified. Third, the most annoying characteristics of WFN can be identified by combining two or more components of WFN. Finally, this helps determine the sufficiency of current penalties applied to WFN characteristics.
7 citations
Cites result from "Before-after field study of effects..."
...Insignificant effects of WFN on sleep were reported in some studies (Michaud et al. 2013; Jalali et al. 2016), while another objective study has reported that WFN can have some effects on sleep (Smith et al. 2016)....
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...Insignificant effects of WFN on sleep were reported in some studies (Michaud et al. 2013; Jalali et al. 2016), while another objective study has reported that WFN can have some effects on sleep (Smith et al....
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...Jalali et al. (2016) assessed the effect of WFN on sleep using before and after wind turbine installation measurements....
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TL;DR: In this article , the authors reviewed the assessments of objective sleep quality applied in environmental researches, compared them from the perspective of accuracy and interference, and statistically analyzed the impact of experimental type and subjects' information on method selection.
Abstract: To date, although many studies had focused on the impact of environmental factors on sleep, how to choose the proper assessment method for objective sleep quality was often ignored, especially for healthy subjects in bedroom environment. In order to provide methodological guidance for future research, this paper reviewed the assessments of objective sleep quality applied in environmental researches, compared them from the perspective of accuracy and interference, and statistically analyzed the impact of experimental type and subjects' information on method selection. The review results showed that, in contrast to polysomnography (PSG), the accuracy of actigraphy (ACT), respiratory monitoring-oxygen saturation monitoring (RM-OSM), and electrocardiograph (ECG) could reach up to 97%, 80.38%, and 79.95%, respectively. In terms of sleep staging, PSG and ECG performed the best, ACT the second, and RM-OSM the worst; as compared to single methods, mix methods were more accurate and better at sleep staging. PSG interfered with sleep a great deal, while ECG and ACT could be non-contact, and thus, the least interference with sleep was present. The type of experiment significantly influenced the choice of assessment method (p < 0.001), 85.3% of researchers chose PSG in laboratory study while 82.5% ACT in field study; moreover, PSG was often used in a relatively small number of young subjects, while ACT had a wide applicable population. In general, researchers need to pay more attention at selection of assessments in future studies, and this review can be used as a reliable reference for experimental design.
5 citations
TL;DR: In this article , the authors compared the findings of quantitative, experimental and longitudinal research on the effects of wind turbine noise in order to help address the controversy that surrounds the safety of wind turbines and, in this way, to enhance community acceptance of wind farms.
4 citations
References
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01 Jan 2007
3,732 citations
TL;DR: The importance of adequate noise prevention and mitigation strategies for public health is stressed, as Observational and experimental studies have shown that noise exposure leads to annoyance, disturbs sleep and causes daytime sleepiness.
1,189 citations
TL;DR: The electroencephalographic records from 43 subjects who slept for four consecutive nights in a laboratory environment showed that the first night of laboratory sleep contains more awake periods and less Stage I-rapid eye movement sleep.
Abstract: The electroencephalographic records from 43 subjects who slept for four consecutive nights in a laboratory environment were studied in an effort to describe the First Night Effect. These records showed that the first night of laboratory sleep contains more awake periods and less Stage I-rapid eye movement sleep. There is a delay in the onset of Stages IV and I-REM and the sleep is more changeable. These effects rapidly adapt out by the second night of sleep.
1,094 citations
"Before-after field study of effects..." refers background in this paper
...Sleep recordings obtained at home using portable PSG also has advantages because sleep patterns in the laboratory may not be representative of typical sleep as participants must adapt to the unfamiliar environment.([11]) Testing location is also important when studying the effects of environmental noise on sleep, as people may adapt to noise in their home setting....
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01 Jan 2013
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors stress the importance of adequate noise prevention and mitigation strategies for public health and stress that noise exposure leads to annoyance, disturbs sleep and causes daytime sleepiness, aff ects patient outcomes and staff performance in hospitals, increases the occurrence of hypertension and cardiovascular disease, and impairs cognitive performance in schoolchildren.
Abstract: Noise is pervasive in everyday life and can cause both auditory and non-auditory health eff ects. Noise-induced hearing loss remains highly prevalent in occupational settings, and is increasingly caused by social noise exposure (eg, through personal music players). Our understanding of molecular mechanisms involved in noise-induced haircell and nerve damage has substantially increased, and preventive and therapeutic drugs will probably become available within 10 years. Evidence of the non-auditory eff ects of environmental noise exposure on public health is growing. Observational and experimental studies have shown that noise exposure leads to annoyance, disturbs sleep and causes daytime sleepiness, aff ects patient outcomes and staff performance in hospitals, increases the occurrence of hypertension and cardiovascular disease, and impairs cognitive performance in schoolchildren. In this Review, we stress the importance of adequate noise prevention and mitigation strategies for public health.
942 citations