Broadband Sound and Sleep

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.