scope:

This Standard provides a method to predict sleep disturbance in home settings where people are familiar with the neighborhood noise environment. Sleep "disturbance" is restricted to behaviorally confirmed awakening as demonstrated, for example, by pressing a button upon awakening. Noise levels are quantified as indoor A-weighted sound exposure levels of outdoor events occurring less than five minutes prior to the awakening. The Standard further assumes that the sleepers have normal hearing with no sleep disorders.

Although this Standard is primarily based on sleep disturbances caused by aircraft noise, the limited data that were available indicated that the prediction method is equally applicable to other discrete single events such as the sound of a train passby, a single small-arms gunshot, or the sound of a coupler bang in a train marshalling yard. The Standard is not applicable to predictions of sleep disturbances caused by multiple noise events that occur in a very short time (e.g., 10 gunshots in 10 s), or to large-weapon noise (e.g., artillery), explosive demolition, etc. The Standard does not address other aspects of sleep disturbance such as gross body movements, sleep stage changes, sleep latency, or self reports of sleep quality.

The Standard does not apply to persons under 18 years of age, individuals with sleep disorders, or individuals in poor health.