BU study finds living near an airport can be bad for your sleep

BOSTON - Living anywhere near an airport can be bad for your sleep.

Researchers at the Boston University School of Public Health, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Harvard looked at the sleep patterns of more than 35,000 people living around 90 of the country's major airports. They found that even moderate levels of airplane noise can interrupt a good night's sleep.

In fact, people exposed to airplane levels as low as 45 decibels were more likely to sleep less than 7 hours per night. That noise level is a little more than being in a library and a little less than a typical conversation in your home.

This study adds to the growing evidence that environmental noise can have a negative impact on overall health.

In:
• Health
• Boston University
• Sleep

Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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