A Comprehensive Review of the Relationship Between Stressful Residential Environments and Sleep Disorders

Sleep disorders have become a widespread public health concern, with growing evidence pointing to the significant role of environmental and contextual factors in their development. This review explores the complex and multifaceted relationship between stressful residential environments and sleep health, emphasizing the interplay of physical housing conditions, psychosocial stressors, and broader social determinants. Drawing from interdisciplinary literature in urban studies, environmental health, psychology, and sleep medicine, the article identifies key environmental stressors, such as noise pollution, artificial light, poor air quality, overcrowding, and neighborhood insecurity, that adversely affect sleep duration, quality, and architecture. The review further examines the psychological and physiological mechanisms through which these stressors influence sleep, including elevated stress arousal, emotional dysregulation, and a diminished sense of safety and control. It also considers how socioeconomic and demographic variables, such as income level, housing tenure, age, and race/ethnicity, moderate the impact of residential stress on sleep outcomes, often reinforcing existing health disparities. A synthesis of epidemiological and empirical studies is provided to ground theoretical insights in real-world data, followed by a discussion of policy and urban planning implications, including actionable interventions for healthier residential environments. The article concludes by identifying research gaps and proposing directions for future studies, particularly the need for longitudinal, mixed-method, and equity-focused approaches. Overall, this review underscores the critical need to treat sleep health as a spatial and social issue, integrally linked to the built environment and urban governance.

Keywords:

Sleep disorders , Residential stress , Environmental health , Urban planning , Socioeconomic disparities