NCT05774977

Broadband Sound and Sleep

Study on the Use of Broadband Sound to Mitigate Sleep Disruption Due to Aircraft Noise

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 27 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of Pennsylvania · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 21 Years – 50 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

Sound insulation of bedrooms is expensive and typically only granted to residents living close to the airport. We plan to investigate the effects of various aviation noises on sleep under controlled laboratory conditions and to investigate whether some of the sleep disturbing effects can be mitigated by introducing broadband noise into the bedroom or by wearing earplugs.

Detailed description

The Federal Aviation Administration is interested in investigating inexpensive yet effective methods to mitigate the adverse effects of aviation noise on sleep. The sleep of up to 28 subjects will be monitored with polysomnography and actigraphy over 7 consecutive nights in groups of 4 exposed to various sound conditions (aviation noise; broadband noise; aviation noise plus earplugs; aviation noise plus broadband noise at various decibel \[dB\] levels). Subjects will fill out surveys, perform cognitive tasks and a hearing test before and after each sleep period. The study will be performed in the Chronobiology Isolation Laboratory (CIL) in the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. This newly constructed facility includes 4 acoustically isolated bedrooms and a high-fidelity sound system. Eligible subjects are age 21-50, free of psychiatric conditions that preclude participation, and maintain a self-reported regular sleep schedule of 6-8.5 hours per night as verified by six days of ambulatory actigraphy and daily logs.

Conditions

• Noise Exposure

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Aviation Noise Only (AN)	The aviation noise (AN) night will expose subjects to a pre-programmed recording of aviation noise and alerts during sleep from 2300-0700.
OTHER	Pink noise only, 50 dBA (BN50)	The BN50 night will consist of exposure to continuous pink noise throughout the sleep period at a level of 50 A-weighted decibels (dBA).
OTHER	Aviation Noise With Earplugs (AN+EP)	The AN + EP night will consist of the aviation noise (AN) exposure with the addition of wearing earplugs overnight.
OTHER	Aviation Noise With Pink Noise, 40 dBA (AN+BN40)	The AN + BN40 night will consist of the aviation noise (AN) exposure with the addition of continuous pink noise throughout the sleep period at a level of 40 dBA.
OTHER	Aviation Noise With Pink Noise, 50 dBA (AN+BN50)	The AN + BN50 night will consist of the aviation noise (AN) exposure with the addition of continuous pink noise throughout the sleep period at a level of 50 dBA.

Timeline

• Start date: 2023-10-31
• Primary completion: 2024-06-17
• Completion: 2024-06-17
• First posted: 2023-03-20
• Last updated: 2025-11-18
• Results posted: 2025-11-18

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States