How climate change could be ruining your sleep
Scientists have found that climate change may disrupt your sleep quality.
This is because warmer nights caused by the climate crisis could make sleep apnea, a condition thought to affect around 10 million people in the UK, more common.
People with sleep apnea often snore loudly, their breathing starts and stops throughout the night, and they may wake up several times. This not only causes excessive sleepiness during the day, but can also increase the risk of high blood pressure, stroke, heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
Researchers in Australia have found that the number of people suffering from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) increases during heatwaves.
Study author Dr Lucía Pinilla, from Flinders University, said: “During summer heatwaves, obstructive sleep apnea has become more common and more severe. OSA must now be considered alongside other chronic diseases worsened by climate change. Heatwaves are not only uncomfortable, they can also directly affect the way we breathe and sleep.”
Previous research has found that rising temperatures can increase heart attacks, suicides and accidents.
A 2022 study published in the journal One WorldIt revealed that the average global citizen already loses 44 hours of sleep a year, with women and the elderly most affected.
Researchers at the Adelaide Sleep Health Institute at Flinders University in Australia analyzed data on 67,558 people in 17 European countries.
Participants used under-bed sleep sensors that monitored sleep patterns, snoring, apnea events or pauses in breathing, and heart rate. Most of the participants were men and the average age was 52.
Data from sleep sensors was tracked over five summers, from January 2020 to September 2024, and compared with local nighttime temperatures to assess the impact of heat waves.
Researchers noted that there are an average of two to three heat waves per year, and each heat wave lasts about four to five days.
The results were published in the journal European Respiratory Journal found that the risk of people suffering from moderate to severe OSA increased by 13 percent at the height of the heat wave.
They also found that for every 1°C increase in nighttime temperature during a heat wave, the prevalence of moderate-to-severe OSA increased by about 1 percent. The risk was even higher when humidity was also high.
“These effects are likely to be similar in other parts of the world and may be even more pronounced in regions with warmer climates or where heatwaves are more frequent,” Dr Pinilla said.
“However, factors such as housing quality and access to air conditioning may influence the severity of the impact.”
The team now plans to investigate how hot nights affect breathing during sleep, why OSA worsens, and whether cooling strategies or behavioral changes could help reduce the effect.
Professor Sofia Schiza, head of the sleep-disordered breathing group at the European Respiratory Society based at the University of Crete in Greece, who was not involved in the research, said: “Obstructive sleep apnea is a common condition that can increase the risk of serious health problems such as heart disease and stroke, but many people are unaware they have a problem.
“This research shows how heat waves, where temperatures stay high overnight, increase the risk of OSA.”
