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StillnessEnvironmental health fact

Living for years with loud road, rail or aircraft noise can harm health. It is linked to broken sleep, poorer learning in children and a higher risk of heart disease, and the body keeps reacting even after people stop noticing the sound.

WHO / European Environment Agency

HealthMindScience

The story behind the card

In 2020 the European Environment Agency estimated that at least 113 million people in Europe live with long-term road traffic noise of 55 decibels or more, averaged over day and night; that is the level the European Union uses to report harmful noise, and the World Health Organization recommends keeping road noise below 53. Studies link such exposure to disturbed sleep, raised stress hormones, poorer reading and memory in children near airports and busy roads, and more high blood pressure and heart disease. People do get used to a sound in the sense that they notice it less, but sleep studies show that heart rate still jumps when a lorry or plane passes at night.

Türkçe oku
Yıllarca yoğun trafik, tren ya da uçak gürültüsüyle yaşamak sağlığa zarar verebilir. Bu gürültü bölünen uyku, çocuklarda öğrenme güçlüğü ve daha yüksek kalp hastalığı riskiyle ilişkilidir; insan sesi fark etmez hâle geldikten sonra bile beden tepki vermeyi sürdürür.

Avrupa Çevre Ajansı 2020'de, Avrupa'da en az 113 milyon kişinin gece ve gündüz ortalaması 55 desibel ya da daha yüksek olan trafik gürültüsüyle uzun süre yaşadığını hesapladı. Avrupa Birliği zararlı gürültüyü bu eşikten itibaren raporlar; Dünya Sağlık Örgütü ise yol trafiği gürültüsünün 53 desibelin altında tutulmasını önerir. Araştırmalar bu tür gürültüyü bölünen uyku, yükselen stres hormonları, havalimanı ve işlek yol yakınında oturan çocuklarda okuma ve bellek sorunları, yüksek tansiyon ve kalp hastalığıyla ilişkilendiriyor. İnsan zamanla sese alışır, yani onu daha az fark eder; ama uyku araştırmaları, gece bir kamyon ya da uçak geçtiğinde kalp atışının yine hızlandığını gösteriyor.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Noise pollution
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