The NORAH-Sleep Study: Effects of the Night Flight Ban at Frankfurt Airport

Abstract

As part of the NORAH study the German Aerospace Center (DLR) examined during three measurement periods in 2011-2013 the "Effects of aircraft noise on sleep" around Frankfurt airport before and after the implementation of a night flight ban (11 p.m. - 5 a.m.) in October 2011. A total of 202 healthy adult airport residents aged 18 to 78 years were investigated at their homes during these three study years. Polysomnograms of 49 subjects in 2011 and 83 subjects in 2012 were recorded for three nights each. In 2013, a total of 187 volunteers were examined for 3 nights with a less expensive method, measuring heart rate and body movements in order to assess vegetativ-motoric reactions to noise. In each study year, the sound pressure level and the noise at night were continuously registered at the sleeper's ear. Exposure-response curves representing the awakening/vegetative-motoric reaction probabilities for an overflight depending on the maximum sound pressure level were calculated for the different years as well as sleep quality parameters for 2011 and 2012. Sleep behavior of two bed time groups (one exposed to aircraft noise in the evening and in the morning, the other just in the morning) were compared.