Millions of people rely on special sleep aids to get enough rest at night, but a new study reveals that some of these devices may negatively affect sleep quality.
Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania conducted a study involving 25 healthy adults aged 21 to 41, none of whom regularly used sleep aids, most notably the pink noise machines, or suffered from sleep disorders. Participants slept for eight hours a night for seven consecutive nights in a sleep lab under various conditions, including:
Pink noise alone. (A type of regular and continuous sound, similar in nature to sounds found in the environment, such as: the sound of rain, a waterfall, sea waves, or a light breeze).
The noise of the airplanes alone.
A mix of pink noise and airplane noise.
Airplane noise while using earplugs.
The results showed that exposure to airplane noise alone resulted in lighter and more fragmented sleep, while pink noise reduced REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, associated with dreaming, by approximately 19 minutes. Combining pink noise with airplane noise reduced both deep and REM sleep and increased wakefulness time by 15 minutes.
In contrast, the use of earplugs helped participants sleep more deeply and with less interruption, similar to quiet nights without background noise, confirming their effectiveness in protecting sleep from noise pollution.
Dr. Matthias Basner, lead author of the study and a sleep expert, said: "Our findings warn against the use of wide-ranging noise, especially for newborns and young children, and indicate the need for further research on long-term use, different types of noise, and their safe levels for sleep."
Experts confirm that disrupting deep sleep and REM sleep affects both physical and mental health. Loss of deep sleep leads to a buildup of toxins in the brain linked to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's, while poor sleep impairs cognitive functions, affecting memory, concentration, and decision-making, and increasing stress, anxiety, and depression.
Using noise devices in an attempt to improve sleep may backfire, depriving individuals of the most important stages for restoring brain activity and long-term health.
