May 26, 2017
Nighttime temperature and human sleep loss in a changing climate
by
,
Science Advances
- States that human sleep is highly regulated by temperature
- Conducts the inaugural investigation of the relationship between climatic anomalies, reports of insufficient sleep, and projected climate change
- Uses data from 765,000 U.S. survey respondents from 2002 to 2011, coupled with nighttime temperature data
- Shows that increases in nighttime temperatures amplify self-reported nights of insufficient sleep
- Observes the largest effects during the summer and among both lower-income and elderly respondents
- Combines historical estimates with climate model projections and details the potential sleep impacts of future climatic changes
- Represents the largest ever investigation of the relationship between sleep and ambient temperature and provides the first evidence that climate change may disrupt human sleep