Investigating the combined effect of artificial light at night and noise on educational achievements of schoolchildren

Surrounded by artificial light and noise at night, schoolchildren do not sleep well and wake up tired in the morning, which can adversely affect their school grades. In this study, we verify this hypothesis by measuring nighttime light and noise in schoolchildren’s bedrooms and comparing these measurements with educational achievements in various study subjects. During the six-week study, schoolchildren used the AndroSensor smartphone app to monitor illumination and noise and the ZeppLife app to monitor sleep. The measurements were compared to the grades obtained during the corresponding school quarter, with grades in Arabic, Hebrew, English, mathematics, humanities, and sciences analyzed separately. Analysis revealed that exposure to artificial light before sleep was significantly associated with low grades in all subjects but particularly with grades in mathematics and sciences (p < 0.01), while exposure to noise, both before and during sleep, was found to be associated with lower grades in all study subjects (p < 0.01). Additionally, the combined effect of light and noise was found to be stronger if the two types of exposure occurred simultaneously (p < 0.01). As exposure to artificial light at night and noise can interfere with educational achievement of schoolchildren, it should become a major public policy concern.