A small study from Taiwan suggests being exposed to workplace noise all day may cause stress that carries over into the evening and reduces sleep quality, according to ARY News.
Researchers found that when workers had higher occupational noise exposure, they had higher blood pressure and higher levels of the stress-hormone cortisol after work, and got less restful sleep that night, compared to days with lower daytime noise exposure.
“We take the amount of noise in our environments for granted,” said Dr. Seema Sharma of the SickKids Centre for Community Mental Health in Toronto, who wasn’t involved with the study.
“People don’t go to work expecting to have changes in their physiology,” said Sharma “We expect rest to take us back to normal functioning, but we typically have to go back to work before then.”
