How climate change could be blamed for your bad night’s sleep
New study links rising temperatures to poor sleep
- A new study has linked rising temperatures to shorter sleep times and poorer sleep quality, particularly impacting individuals with chronic health conditions.
- Scientists at the University of Southern California found that a 10-degree Celsius increase in daytime temperature was associated with 2.19 minutes of lost sleep, with a 10-degree nighttime rise leading to 2.63 minutes lost.
- The research, which analysed over 12 million nights of sleep data from 14,232 US adults, also indicated that warmer conditions caused more disrupted sleep and increased time spent awake in bed.
- The study highlighted that the adverse effects of higher temperatures on sleep were more significant for women, people of Hispanic ethnicity, those with chronic diseases, and individuals of lower socioeconomic status.
- Researchers emphasised that while individual sleep losses may seem minor, their cumulative impact across millions of people is substantial, potentially worsening health problems and underscoring the importance of addressing environmental stressors.