The street outside your home might shape your sleep.

New research from Japan suggests greener neighbourhoods and streets framed by buildings or trees are linked to longer sleep, while areas with more pedestrian-friendly street layouts are linked to shorter sleep.

Researchers at Osaka Metropolitan University examined how neighbourhood appearance and perceptions of safety affect sleep among employed adults aged 40 to 59 living on the third floor or below in Tokyo.

The team used AI to analyse more than 200,000 Google Street View images to identify visual neighbourhood characteristics. They then linked those characteristics to the self-reported sleep of 1,089 working adults living on the lower floors of apartments.

The researchers found streets framed by buildings or trees were associated with fewer symptoms of insomnia and longer sleep duration.

There was also some evidence this relationship was partly explained by residents feeling their neighbourhoods were safer and more lively.

“Our results also reinforce a significant positive association between perceived safety and sleep duration,” researchers wrote.

Greener neighbourhoods were linked to higher perceptions of safety and, in turn, longer sleep.

Neighbourhoods with more pedestrian-friendly street layouts were associated with lower perceived safety and shorter sleep.

The authors said the findings broaden understanding of how urban environments influence sleep health and identify practical indicators that could inform future research and urban planning interventions aimed at creating healthier cities.

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