The World Health Organization(WHO) has documented seven categories of adverse health and social effects of noise pollution, whether occupational, social or environmental: hearing impairment, interference with spoken communication, cardiovascular disturbances, mental health problems, impaired cognition, negative social behaviors and sleep disturbances.
The latter is considered the most deleterious non-auditory effect because of its impact on quality of life and daytime performance.
Environmental noise, especially that caused by transportation means is a growing
problem in our modern cities. It is considered a major cause of exogenous sleep disturbances after somatic problems and day tensions.
Sleep is an important modulator of hormonal release,
glucose regulation and cardiovascular function. In particular
slow-wave sleep,the most restorative sleep stage,is