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Couch potato owners mean obese dogs
[mis à jour le 15 February 2008 à 14h13]
You don’t have to be awake for your blood pressure to soar! According to a new study, nocturnal air traffic noise causes an increase in blood pressure. Even – and this is the real discovery – in those who are asleep and unaware of the harm they are suffering.
Dr Lars Jarup and his team at Imperial College in London, monitored the sleep of 140 volunteers living close to Heathrow International Airport. The study was conducted in real conditions, in the bedrooms of those participating. Their blood pressure was taken automatically every 15 minutes.
Jarup shows that “there is a noticeable rise in the blood pressure of the volunteers after each noise exceeding 35 decibels (35 dB)”. Which of course corresponds to an aeroplane passing overhead or nearby. “And this increase is found even if the individual in question is not woken by their sound environment. That is to say, even if that individual is not fully aware of being disturbed”.
The authors also show “that a 10 dB increase in sound levels raises the risk of hypertension by 14% in both men and women”. They believe that “measures must be considered to reduce nocturnal noise close to airports with a view to protecting the health of local residents”. Which gives us something to think about, given that France has announced a new international airport to be built by around 2015.
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