Daytime physiological stress and nighttime noise exposure were associated with alterations in sleep architecture, with stress linked to a shift toward more REM and less deep sleep, and noise linked to more wakefulness and light sleep.
Key Findings
Results
An increase in daytime physiological stress from the 10th to the 90th percentile was associated with a significant increase in REM sleep percentage.
An increase in the number of Moments of Stress per day from the 10th to the 90th percentile was related to a 6.57-point increase in REM sleep percentage.
Daytime stress was quantified using the Moment of Stress algorithm applied to electrodermal activity data from the Empatica Embrace Plus bracelet.
Twenty-one participants in Jerusalem were monitored over a 7-day period.
Linear mixed-effects models with a random intercept at the individual level were used to assess effects.
Results
An increase in daytime physiological stress from the 10th to the 90th percentile was associated with a decrease in deep (N3) sleep percentage.
An increase in Moments of Stress per day from the 10th to the 90th percentile was related to a 5.74-point decrease in deep (N3) sleep percentage.
This finding, together with the REM increase, indicates 'a shift in sleep architecture under heightened stress.'
Sleep was measured via electroencephalography using the Dreem Headband wearable device.
The study was conducted in a real-world, naturalistic setting over 7 days.
Results
Each additional minute of nighttime noise exposure above 65 dB(A) was associated with more wake after sleep onset (WASO).
Each additional minute of noise exposure above 65 dB(A) was linked to 1.20 more minutes of WASO (95% CI: 0.54–1.86).
Noise levels in the bedroom were measured using indoor sensors.
The 65 dB(A) threshold was used as the reference level for noise exposure analysis.
The association was statistically significant based on the confidence interval not crossing zero.
Results
Each additional minute of nighttime noise exposure above 65 dB(A) was associated with a small increase in light (N1) sleep percentage.
Each additional minute of noise exposure above 65 dB(A) was linked to a 0.10-point increase in light (N1) sleep percentage (95% CI: 0.03–0.16).
This suggests noise exposure is associated with a shift toward lighter, more disrupted sleep.
Both WASO and N1 findings together indicate that nighttime noise may fragment sleep architecture.
Results
No association was detected between bedroom temperature and any sleep outcome.
Indoor sensors measured both noise and temperature levels in the bedroom.
Temperature was assessed as a potential source of nighttime stress but yielded no significant associations with sleep architecture.
This null finding distinguishes the effects of noise from those of temperature as environmental stressors.
Methods
The study used a rule-based psychophysiological algorithm (Moment of Stress) applied to wearable electrodermal activity data to quantify daytime stress in a real-world setting.
The Moment of Stress algorithm utilized electrodermal activity from the Empatica Embrace Plus bracelet.
Twenty-one participants were monitored continuously over a 7-day period in Jerusalem.
The Dreem Headband provided EEG-based sleep staging, enabling classification of REM, N1, N2, and N3 sleep stages as well as WASO.
The study design represents a naturalistic, ambulatory monitoring approach rather than a controlled laboratory setting.
What This Means
This research suggests that both the stress we experience during the day and the noise in our bedroom at night can meaningfully change how we sleep. The study tracked 21 people in Jerusalem for one week using wristbands that detected physiological signs of stress and headbands that measured brain activity during sleep. It found that on days when people experienced more stress, they spent more time in REM (dreaming) sleep and less time in deep, restorative sleep — a pattern that could affect how refreshed people feel in the morning. Separately, louder nighttime noise (above 65 decibels, roughly the level of a loud conversation) was linked to more time spent awake in the middle of the night and more time in light sleep.
These findings are notable because they were collected in people's real homes during their normal lives, rather than in a sleep laboratory. This makes the results more applicable to everyday experience. The stress measure came from skin conductance sensors in a wristband, and sleep stages were tracked using a wearable EEG headband — showing that consumer-grade devices can be used to study these relationships outside clinical settings. Interestingly, bedroom temperature was not associated with any sleep changes in this sample.
This research suggests that managing daytime stress and reducing nighttime noise exposure — for example, through soundproofing, earplugs, or addressing noise sources — may be important modifiable factors for protecting sleep quality. Because the sample was small (21 people) and the study was conducted over just one week, the authors describe their findings as preliminary, and larger studies would be needed to confirm and extend these results.
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Montanari A, Wang A, Moser M, Resch B, Birenboim A, Chaix B. (2026). The impact of stress on sleep architecture: A seven-day study leveraging a psychophysiological stress detection algorithm and wearable EEG.. Sleep health. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleh.2026.02.008