• Jeonghwan Lee, Jangho Park, Jukab Lee, Joon-Ho Ahn, Chang Sun Sim, Kukju Kweon, and Hyo-Won Kim.
• Department of Psychiatry, Ulsan University Hospital, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Ulsan, Korea.
• J. Korean Med. Sci. 2021 Sep 27; 36 (37): e234.

BackgroundNoise has been a major issue in children due to its effect on emotional symptoms and sleep problems. The present study investigated the effect of noise on sleep and autonomic activity in children according to three variables, namely, road traffic noise, aircraft noise, and noise sensitivity (NS).MethodsThe study is epidemiological in nature. A total of 474 subjects of four elementary schools were evaluated in conjunction with the 2014 noise map data gathered from two metropolitan regions, Seoul and Ulsan, in South Korea. Each subject completed the children's sleep habits questionnaire, and heart rate variability (HRV) was recorded. Analysis of covariance was performed using monthly income as a covariate.ResultsAircraft noise was associated with night waking (P = 0.047), whereas no significant association was observed between sleep and road traffic noise. After stratifying by NS, no significant results were obtained for road traffic noise. However, high levels of aircraft noise in the high-NS group were associated with high degrees of bedtime resistance (P = 0.049). In terms of HRV, no significant difference was observed in the results between groups.ConclusionRoad traffic noise did not significantly alter sleep or autonomic activity in children, whereas aircraft noise exerted a negative effect on sleep. The findings suggest that the impact of noise on sleep in children varies depending on noise sources.© 2021 The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences.

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