Climate Change Is Driving Sleep Loss as Nights Get Warmer
Rising temperatures, drought and heavy rainfall are increasingly impacting people’s health, according to a Lancet study.
People look at water being sprayed from a fountain on Banpo Rainbow Bridge at night in Seoul, South Korea, on Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024. The Korea Meteorological Administration issued a heat wave warning across the country on Aug. 6.
Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/BloombergClimate change is increasingly disrupting people’s sleep.
High nighttime temperatures led to 5% more hours of sleep lost worldwide over the past five years compared to the period between 1986 and 2005, according to the latest edition of the Lancet’s study of climate and health. It marks the first time the prestigious medical journal has examined this metric. Sleep loss peaked in 2023, the hottest year on record, when there was a 6% rise.