Environmental open-source data sets and sleep-wake rhythms of populations: an overview

Area of Science:

• Sleep science
• Environmental health
• Societal impacts on health

Background:

• Epidemiological studies of sleep disorders traditionally rely on questionnaires and sleep logs to assess total sleep time (TST).
• Recent data indicate a global decline in TST, prompting a need for broader research perspectives.
• The influence of the sleep environment on sleep-wake rhythms (SWR) has been largely overlooked in sleep research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and propose open-source datasets related to environmental and societal factors affecting human SWR.
• To highlight the potential of these datasets in explaining the decline in TST.
• To encourage a more comprehensive approach to assessing SWR.

Main Methods:

• Literature review to identify environmental and societal fields impacting SWR.
• Expert panel consultation to select the five most pertinent fields.
• Web-based research to identify open-source datasets for noise, light pollution, radio frequencies, transportation, and internet use.

Main Results:

• Five key fields—noise, light pollution, radio frequencies, transportation, and internet use—were identified as potentially impacting SWR.
• Open-source data sets for these fields are readily available to the research community.
• The evolution of these environmental and societal factors may partially explain the observed decline in TST.

Conclusions:

• Assessing SWR requires considering patient accounts alongside environmental data.
• Environmental cues, such as noise and light pollution, play a crucial role in regulating sleep-wake patterns.
• Integrating environmental data into sleep research can provide a more holistic understanding of SWR and sleep disorders.