Environmental Factors Impacting Sleep

Conducted in collaboration with the University of Louisville's Green Heart Project, which investigates cardiovascular health effects of urban tree planting, we tracked 62 participants for fourteen consecutive days using actigraphy, surveys and sleep logs, measuring multiple environmental variables in bedrooms. We found that bedroom environmental quality impacts sleep, with sleep efficiency decreasing in a dose-dependent manner with higher levels of temperature, noise, PM2.5, and CO2. 

Read more here: Associations of bedroom PM_2.5, CO₂, temperature, humidity, and noise with sleep: An observational actigraphy study

We investigated whether environmental factors such as ambient CO₂ levels (such as those encountered aboard the International Space Station) or simulated microgravity via head-down tilt and bed-rest protocols might impair sleep quality, cognitive functioning and complex decision-making. We found that simulated microgravity caused a modest slowing of cognitive speed, but adding elevated CO₂ did not worsen this effect, and cognition returned to baseline within about two weeks of recover. 

Read more here: Effects of acute exposures to carbon dioxide on decision making and cognition in astronaut-like subjects

Read more here: Effects of head-down tilt bed rest plus elevated CO₂ on cognitive performance