This field study aimed to investigate naturally ventilated bedroom environment and its effects on subjective perception and sleep quality. Totally, 104 healthy subjects living in urban areas of Beijing participated in the study for one night during transition seasons. Bedroom environment parameters, including temperature, relative humidity, and CO2 concentration, were recorded before and during sleep. Objective sleep quality was measured by Fitbit Alta 2, a wrist-type actigraphy sensor. Subjective assessments were collected by paper-based questionnaires on sleep quality and environmental perceptions. The results showed that neutral temperature for waking state (before sleep) was estimated to be 23.8°C while for sleep state it was 26.5°C. Furthermore, pre-sleep thermal sensation vote was found to be positively correlated with deep sleep percentage. Indoor air quality was correlated with sleep quality as indicated by statistically significant correlations between odor intensity assessment, air quality acceptability, average nightly CO2 concentration, and measures of sleep quality. For naturally ventilated bedrooms during transition seasons with a mild outdoor climate, present findings suggest that a bedroom with slightly warm pre-sleep environment than neutral, and with high ventilation as indicated by low indoor CO2 concentration, could be beneficial for sleep quality of residents.
Keywords: air quality; bedroom environment; carbon dioxide; field investigation; sleep quality; thermal comfort.
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