Noise 'raises sleep blood pressure'
Updated on 13 February 2008
Intrusive noise such as aircraft, traffic, or a snoring partner, causes blood pressure to rise even as we sleep, new research has shown.
Scientists made the discovery after monitoring 140 sleeping volunteers at their homes near Heathrow and three other major European airports.
They found that participants' blood pressure went up noticeably after a "noise event" - a sound louder than 35 decibels.
Typical causes were passenger jets flying overhead, traffic passing outside, or snoring.
Aircraft noise produced an average increase in systolic "heartbeat" blood pressure of 6.2 millimetres of mercury (mmHg).
Diastolic pressure, the pressure between beats, was raised by 7.4 mmHg. Similar blood pressure rises were triggered by other noise sources such as traffic.
Blood pressure went up in direct relation to noise loudness, said the researchers, writing in the European Heart Journal.
For every five decibel increase in aircraft noise at its loudest point there was a 0.66 mmHg increase in systolic blood pressure. The type of sound, or its origin, did not appear to be important. It was volume that mattered.
Dr Lars Jarup, one of the study authors from Imperial College London said: "We know that noise from air traffic can be a source of irritation, but our research shows that it can also be damaging for people's health, which is particularly significant in light of plans to expand international airports.
"Our studies show that night-time aircraft noise can affect your blood pressure instantly and increase the risk of hypertension (high blood pressure)."
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