Sleep-disturbance and quality of sleep in Hong Kong in relation to night time noise exposure

Sleep disturbance is a main aversive effect of night time noise exposure; there is ample evidence that night time transport noise leads to acute effects such as physiological response, arousal, awakening, sleep stage changes, and amount of total sleep. Indirect effects as sleep disturbance, reduced performance and concentration have also been established. However, the long term effect of these changes is still unclear and highly hypothetical. As part of the Hong Kong transportation noise study, sleep quality was measured by means of two widely used instruments: a one question 11-point sleep disturbance scale and the Groninger Sleep Quality Scale (GSKS). Results show that 30% scores above 3 on the GSKS, indicating this be a matter of concern in Hong Kong, especially among residents of more exposed housing estates. However, this effect is not reflected in the percentage of highly sleep disturbed by road traffic noise. International comparison actually shows a lower curve in Hong Kong compared to elsewhere. Other noises were identified as sources of sleep disturbance in the survey. The influence of personal and contextual factors is highly comparable to those found elsewhere for annoyance, which includes noise sensitivity, access to a quiets side, density and overall residential satisfaction.