Impact of overnight traffic noise on sleep quality, sleepiness, and vigilant attention in long-haul truck drivers: Results of a pilot study.

This study aimed to evaluate the impact of traffic noise along the motorway on sleep quality, sleepiness, and vigilant attention in long-haul truck drivers. This was a randomized, crossover, within-subject controlled study. Healthy long-haul truck drivers spent 6 consecutive nights in a real truck berth with full sleep laboratory equipment. During 3 nights, subjects were exposed to replayed traffic noise alongside motorways, whereas the other 3 nights were without traffic noise. Polysomnography was recorded during the nights and numerous sleepiness tests and vigilance examinations were performed during the following standardized working day. Outcome measures were compared between noisy and silent nights using the paired Wilcoxon test. Ten healthy long-haul truck drivers with a mean age of 36.3 ± 7.3 years completed the study as planned. On noisy nights, subjects had greater latencies to the rapid eye movement (REM) phase (90 ± 32 min vs 69 ± 16 min, P = 0.074) and higher percentages of sleep stage 1 (13.7 ± 5.5% vs 11.2 ± 4.4%; P = 0.059). Subjects also rated their sleep quality as having been better during nights without noise (28.1 ± 3.7 vs 30.3 ± 6.2, P = 0.092). The impact of these differences on daytime sleepiness and vigilance was rather low; however, mean Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS) scores measured during the course of the following day were higher on six out of eight occasions after noisy nights. The effects of overnight traffic noise on sleep quality are detectable but unlikely to have any major impact on the vigilant attention and driving performance of long haul-truck drivers with low nocturnal noise sensitivity. This might not be true for subgroups prone to sleeping disorders.

Prospective analyses of alertness, sleep, and fitness to drive one year after de novo multiple sclerosis diagnosis.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence and functional burden of the chronic demyelinating disease multiple sclerosis (MS) are well documented; however, little is known about the initial clinical course of alertness, sleep, cognitive, and psychological symptoms. OBJECTIVES: This exploratory, prospective, longitudinal study multidimensionally investigated the development and progression of alertness, sleep, fitness to drive, and psychological symptoms in the first year after de novo MS diagnosis. METHODS: Twenty-five people with MS (pwMS) were assessed cognitively, psychologically, and using polysomnography soon after diagnosis and one year later, with outcomes compared to matched healthy controls. RESULTS: In the early stage of the disease, psychological symptoms of pwMS were comparable with those of controls, and patient conditions did not deteriorate within the first disease year. A small percentage of pwMS experienced increased levels of anxiety and depression after diagnosis. Alertness, sustained attention, and fitness to drive were comparable between both groups, and fatigue levels remained low over the course of the year. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights patient experiences within the initial clinical course of MS in a small group of patients. Further research is needed to understand the progression of symptoms and impairments in MS over a longer period and in different stages of the disease.