Research Project-Wind Farm Noise Study.

Wind farm noise exposure, including audible and potentially inaudible low frequency components, clearly has the potential to adversely affect sleep, health and wellbeing through two main plausible and interrelated mechanisms: chronic sleep fragmentation from frequent physiological activation responses to sensory disturbances in sleep, and chronic insomnia which could potentially develop more gradually over time in sensitised individuals.

However, data from well-designed studies using objective measures of sleep and sound are remarkably lacking and are clearly now needed to definitively establish the sleep disruption characteristics of wind farm noise compared to other noise disturbances in sleep.

Students involved with this research could assist with:

1. A survey of people exposed to wind farm or traffic noise. One of the aims of the survey is to compare responses about sleep disturbance from people exposed to wind farms and people who live in noisy night-time traffic conditions, which are already known to disturb sleep.

2. An in-home study of sleep and noise in people affected by noise. Self-reported and direct objective measures of sleep quality will be assessed in participants’ natural homes and noise environments to investigate the relationships between noise, sleep disturbances, and other factors.

3. A laboratory study to investigate noise effects on sleep in a controlled sleep and noise environment. Gold standard sleep and physiological activation responses to a range of noises will be used to carefully test noise impacts on sleep macro-structure (i.e. sleep stage distribution and wake time during the sleep period) and sleep micro-structure (i.e. brief arousal and physiological activation responses). Source: Flinders Uni.

Flinders University Wind Farm Noise Study

Wind Farm Noise Recorded Almost 9km Away