A new study by researchers from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden has shown that even low traffic noise levels could be enough to disrupt work performance.
Traffic Pollution
It is no longer news that noise from traffic can have adverse effects on human health and work performance. This noise can be quite disruptive in many cases.
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The research team from Chalmers found that traffic noise levels even as low as 40 decibels (dB) can make people perform poorly on the job.
Leon Müller, a doctoral student in the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering at Chalmers’ Division of Applied Acoustics, compared 40dB to the usual noise level in an office setting or a kitchen.
Houses moving closer to roads
It has been observed in multiple places around the world that housing is drawing closer and closer to roads, as populations surge in cities. New buildings – sometimes residential – are springing up in the proximity of roads and thoroughfares.
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In Sweden, where this new study was carried out, researchers observed that the distance between new housing and roads has been permitted to become shorter and shorter in recent years.
For instance, current Swedish regulations do not take into account individual pass-bys. They instead rely on a 24-hour average outdoor noise level to decide where construction is allowed.
The regulations also do not cover low-frequency noise peaks indoors. Yet, this noise type is not easy to avoid and research shows that it’s more disruptive and harmful to health.
Research by Jens Forssén, a Chalmers professor of applied acoustics, revealed that low-frequency noise mainly results from heavy traffic moving at low speeds.
Traffic noise and work performance
The Chalmers researchers carried out their tests in an environment that resembled a living room having furniture and textiles. They simulated sounds similar to that of road traffic noise with the aid of a speaker system fitted behind windows and ceiling panels.
The speaker system produced background noise comprising two audio sequences that imitated the sounds of passing trucks. The first sequence was a simulation of trucks passing at a distance of 10 meters and the second at fifty meters. Researchers normalized both sequences to 40 dB.
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While exposed to the background noise, study subjects took concentration tests. Researchers asked them to watch a computer screen and react to individual letters that were displayed in sequences. The subjects rated their perceived workload after that based on six factors.
Findings showed that the subjects returned much poorer performance results. The subjects also thought that the task was more difficult to complete with background traffic noise.
“The audio sequence simulating the closer passages, where the sound changes significantly as the vehicle passes by, was usually the one that bothered the test subjects the most,” said Müller. “This could be because traffic that is further away is perceived as a more constant drone.”
The researchers said that reducing vehicle speeds will not reduce indoor noise exposure but rather worsen it. As per Forssén, low-frequency traffic noise cannot be easily dealt with even when complying with all rigorous insulation guidelines.
The most effective strategy would be to prevent urban densification where traffic noise could greatly impact health.
References
Müller, L., Forssén, J., & Kropp, W. (2023). Traffic Noise at Moderate Levels Affects Cognitive Performance: Do Distance-Induced Temporal Changes Matter? International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(5), 3798. doi/10.3390/ijerph20053798
Forssén, J., Zachos, G., …, & Kropp, W. (2023). A model study of low-frequency noise exposure indoors due to road traffic. Noise & Vibration Worldwide, SAGE Journal 30(1). doi/10.1177/1351010X221143571
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