Pikolin presents the 3rd acoustic health campaign

In this third campaign, Pikolin will set up a Sleep Unit right in the heart of Madrid, on the Paseo de la Castellana, in order to evaluate the influence on noise on rest and health.
The recognised expert in the field, Dr. Eduard Estivill, together with his medical team, has been selected to run this study which monitored the sleep of a person between the 25th and 31st of January.

Madrid, 25th January 2011.- Pikolin, the leading sleep products company, presents the 3rd Acoustic Health Campaign which aims to increase awareness of the importance of silence for a good night's sleep. The 3rd Acoustic Health Campaign is holding a number of activities over a two month period. Its initial act will be to establish, for the first time in history, a Sleep Unit in the street, where a week-long clinical study will be conducted. This study will be conducted by Dr. Eduard Estivill and his medical team. Dr. Estivill is an internationally recognised expert on sleep and health, and is currently the Director of the Sleep Clinic at USP Institut Universitari Dexeus in Barcelona. He is the author of such well-known books as The Estivill Method.
The 3rd Acoustic Health Campaign will establish a Sleep Unit on the street, in which a person will spend every night for a week. Dr. Eduard Estivill will conduct a clinical study to analyse the damaging effect of environmental noise on a subject's sleep.

The study aimed to observe how the subject reacted when trying to sleep through noise, and how the stages of sleep changed when they were interrupted. The team will monitor the subject's sleep and body movements, in order to observe the physical problems which arise and how the human body reacts to noise. During the day, people may come to the Sleep Unit for more information, and to undergo a brief test, carried out by a specialist doctor, which will detect sleep problems.

More information about this initiative can be found on the specially created website - www.pikolinsaludacustica.es - on which videos of the sleeper can be seen, and information can be obtained about sleep, noise and health. Additionally, if you leave a suggestion about noise reduction on the site, you will have a chance to win a NormActive mattress with visco-elastic. This project also has a presence on social networks. On Facebook, a group has been created called, “Por un descanso sin ruido” (for silence while you sleep), which already has over 1,300 members.

Acoustic health, a universal problem.

Urban noise (also called environmental noise, residential noise and domestic noise) is defined as the noise made by all sources except those in industrial areas. The main sources of urban noise are: car, rail and air traffic; construction and public works; and the neighbourhood.

Principal effects of noise on sleep*:

Increased brain activity, body movements and autonomous responses.
Increased heart rate
Increased respiratory rate
Increased blood pressure
* All these effects occur even with very low noise levels.

In the last thirty years, many studies have been conducted with the aim of evaluating the effect of noise on sleep and on health in general. Noise has significant repercussions on both sleep architecture and its micro-structure. It also has a negative effect on the autonomous functions and, in the longer term, on health and quality of life. The primary effects - the responses which occur at the same time as the noise, or immediately after it - are increases in brain activity, body movements and autonomous responses. The effects involve many awakenings and changes to more superficial sleep phases, and also a subjective perception of having slept badly. In general, it can be said that the capacity to attain the deeper sleep phases is one which is most affected by exposure to noise. Noise also has other immediate effects, such as increases in heart rate, respiration rate, blood pressure and vasoconstriction. This type of response may even be caused by very low noise levels (Muzet, 1992).

Increasing "Acoustic Health" awareness since 2009.

Pikolin created this initiative in 2009. One of the most outstanding measures carried out in the first campaign involved sound-proofing a building in the Plaza de San Ildefonso in Malasaña, which is one of Madrid's noisiest areas.
To measure the success of the experiment, the sound pollution was measured before and after the sound-proofing. There was an immediate and significant reduction in the sound level.

The quality of sleep was improved, and the success of the experiment resulted in the media publishing these findings and thus contributing to increasing awareness of the noise problem. Those living in the building became real experts in acoustic health, and gave simple advice on how to reduce the annoyances which surround us.

In the second campaign, Pikolin decided to film the real-life experiences of people living in Barcelona and Seville who had noisy neighbours. These people were the central figures in the two documentaries which Pikolin made to bring home the message that everyone has the right to quiet when they are resting or sleeping.

Additionally, Pikolin launched the website www.pikolinsaludacustica.es, an initiative which included "The Mediator", an expert in this type of problem and in mediating conflicts. He was made available to help some of the people who reported sleep problems caused by noisy neighbours. In 2009, more than 7,000 people posted the reasons why they couldn't get to sleep on the Pikolin website. The commonest situations were about noise caused by: music, television and conversation at a high volume; white goods such as washing machines and dish washers being operated at night; neighbours slamming doors as they entered or left their home and talking loudly on staircases; and chats or discussion in the early hours with the windows open.

About the Pikolin Group

The Pikolin Group is leading group in the sleep products sector in Spain (28% market share), France (30%) and Portugal (20%). It has seven production plants and is made up of six commercial brands: Pikolin, Bultex, Swissflex, Lattoflex, Serta and Dunlopillo. Its major investment in R&D&i and access to leading international technologies have given it a competitive edge both for now and in the future.

About Dr. Eduard Estivill

Dr. Eduard Estivill holds degrees in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Barcelona. He has participated in many studies, and since 1989 has been the Director of the Dr. Estivill Sleep Clinic at USP Institut Universitari Dexeus in Barcelona. He is also the author of such well-known books as The Estivill Method and Go To Sleep, Little One.

To follow the campaign on line:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000686441916
http://twitter.com/#!/saludacustica
http://www.pikolinsaludacustica.es/videoblog/

Para más información
EQUIPO SINGULAR
María García
91 787 46 00

Maria.garciaosingular.es@equiposingular.es