Bedroom environmental discomfort, occupant behaviors, and sleep quality based on an online survey

Residential buildings account for more than 70% of floor space, and about half of that is bedrooms. Nevertheless, little is known about the conditions in bedrooms and thus clear performance criteria for rating and designing environmental conditions in bedrooms are lacking. The study investigated to what extent people in Belgium were disturbed by bedroom environment of thermal discomfort, noise, and stuffy air during sleep in summer. Sleep quality was also rated by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). A total of 83 responses were obtained, among whom 47.0% had poor sleep quality with PSQI scores higher than five. Responses of people who were disturbed by “too warm” conditions were significantly associated with poor sleep quality; 67.4% of PSQI scores were higher compared to those who were not disturbed (p < 0.05). A dose-response relationship was observed between the PSQI scores and discomfort with the bedroom environment (p < 0.066 for trend). “Too warm” conditions were the major bedroom discomfort in summer in Belgium (temperate climate). More similar studies are required to be conducted in the other three seasons or regions.