The relationship between ambient neighborhood noise exposure and sleep parameters among Black adults living in the Miami metropolitan area

Objective

Black individuals in the US are burdened by sleep health disparities compared to non-Hispanic White individuals. Neighborhood factors could contribute and provide insights into these disparities. This investigation examined associations between environmental noise and sleep parameters among Black adults to deepen the understanding of sleep disparities.

Methods

Participant sleep parameters were recorded at-home for seven nights using cardiopulmonary coupling-based SleepImage Ring. Soundscores™ derived from HowLoud were used as a proxy for neighborhood noise. Score are noise estimates based on traffic models and local factors. Participants on average lived in slightly noisy neighborhoods (soundscore M = 70.8). Linear regressions were conducted to assess the relationship between noise and sleep parameters.

Results

Analysis of 261 Black adults (aged 18–85 years; 66.7 % female) from South Florida showed quieter environments (higher soundscores) were associated with increased deep sleep and improved sleep quality. When stratified by age and sex, lower noise was associated with decreased nocturnal awakening duration in males aged 18–54 years (β [95 % CI] = -110.76 [-203.18, -18.34]; p = .02; r² = .20) and increased time slept in females aged 55–85 years (β [95 % CI] = 379.48 [5.92, 753.04]; p = .04; r² = .09).

Conclusions

To the authors’ knowledge, this investigation is among the first to investigate associations between noise and sleep in Black adults using objective measures. Results showed sleep parameters were associated with noise, with unique demographic variations. Future investigations are necessary to address the effects of neighborhood features on sleep among Black adults.