Sweet dreams are made of this: The co-benefit of a pedestrianisation policy in Paris on sleep

Road traffic is the primary source of air pollution in urban areas, as well as an important source of noise. It is increasingly regulated in Europe with noticeable positive effects on air quality and health outcomes. Co-benefits of traffic regulations, such as increased physical activity, are put forward to support the development of such policies. One co-benefit that has yet to be documented is sleep despite being a key determinant of health. We consider a flagship traffic policy in France, the Paris Respire campaign,1 that was implemented in 2016 and intends to episodically reduce engine traffic related emissions across the city in targeted areas. We estimate its impact on sleep by relying on personalised sleep tracker data capturing individuals’ sleep quantity and quality between 2015 and 2019 (N=938,386), and implementing a spatial and temporal difference-in-differences framework. The policy decreased daily vehicular traffic in target areas by 24.9% on average across the zones along with non-negligible temporal and geographical spillover effects decaying with distance. Controlling for these spillover effects, we estimate the impact of the policy increases the minutes of total sleep by 2.2% on the night following the application of the policy. We discuss the possible pathways of air pollution and noise pollution, with changes in traffic-related emissions likely being the driver of the effects of the policy. The policy implications are that, if the policy were to be uniformly enforced every weekend over a year, it would result in approximately 2 extra nights of 7-hour sleep inside a target zone. This study offers valuable insights for policymakers and urban planners seeking holistic approaches to improve urban well-being.