Comparing the Effects of Road, Railway, and Aircraft Noise on Sleep: Exposure⁻Response Relationships from Pooled Data of Three Laboratory Studies.

Objectives: Air, road, and railway traffic, the three major sources of traffic noise, have been reported to differently impact on annoyance. However, these findings may not be transferable to physiological reactions during sleep which are considered to decrease nighttime recovery and might mediate long-term negative health effects. Studies on awakenings from sleep indicate that railway noise, while having the least impact on annoyance, may have the most disturbing properties on sleep compared to aircraft noise.

Effect of color temperature on melatonin production for illumination of working environments.

Unlabelled: We studied the influence of correlated color temperature (CCT) of 7 polychromatic white light illuminations (1600 K-14,000 K, 200 lx) in two experiments. Visual performance was tested in 17 students (8 men) during daytime. Visual acuity, contrast sensitivity and sleepiness did not vary with illuminations but polychromatic white light of <2000 K impaired color discrimination.

Bright-light effects on cognitive performance in elderly persons working simulated night shifts: psychological well-being as a mediator?

Purpose: The present study examined whether the relationship between light exposure and cognitive functioning is mediated by psychological well-being in elderly persons working night shifts. The role of psychological well-being has been neglected so far in the relationship between bright light and cognitive performance. Sleepiness and mood were applied as indicators of psychological well-being.

Cortisol awakening response: are sampling delays of 15 minutes acceptable?

Cortisol awakening responses (CAR) are often blunted or even extinguished when saliva samplings are delayed. The literature suggests that delays of 10 or 15 min are tolerable. Delays of 15 min were analysed with 510 CARs with the first sample taken within 3 min post-awakening followed by 4 samples taken 15, 30, 45, and 60 min later.