Climate change is stealing sleep from people..
How do we face the heat to sleep deeply?
Humans :
- are losing hours of sleep as temperatures rise
- prompting scientists to warn that climate change poses
- an increasing threat to human sleep and general health.
Scientists :
are urging the adoption of new strategies to adapt to an increasingly hot world
especially in light of what studies indicate is a direct effect of heat on sleep quality.
A scientific review
published in the Journal of Sleep Medicine
indicates that climate change and urbanization contribute to human sleep
disturbance, with serious repercussions on mental and physical performance
and both mental and physical health.
According to :
another study published by One Earth magazine, humans lost approximately 44
hours of sleep annually during the first two decades of the twenty-first century
compared to previous periods, as a result of rising temperatures.
Researcher Kelton Minor
from the University of Copenhagen, expects that worsening global warming
by 2099 will lead to a loss of up to 58 hours of sleep per year per person
based on data collected from more than 47,000 people in 68 countries.
"Field experiments are urgently needed to understand how to promote adaptation
to heat, in order to protect the essential role of sleep in maintaining overall health,"
Minor and his research team said.
Sleep is closely linked to :
- the body's internal thermostat. During sleep
- the body temperature drops slightly, which helps you relax
- and enter the stages of deep sleep. But as temperatures rise
the brain's stress systems activate
and this sensitive process is disturbed, impairing sleep quality.
Fabien Souvet
a researcher at Paris City University, says that the body begins to sweat
more quickly to deal with heat, but this adaptation requires constant hydration
and has limits. It stresses the importance of adapting everyday behaviour
in terms of timetables, clothing and activities.
Sauvet confirms that humans
are able to sleep at higher temperatures than believed, pointing to studies that have
shown the possibility of getting good sleep even at 28 degrees Celsius, if good
ventilation is provided and light clothing and a simple sheet are used.
He adds :
"If we always rely on air conditioners to sleep
our body will never adapt to thermal changes.".
Take a cold (not iced) shower before bed to help lower body temperature.
Limit caffeine intake in the evening.
Avoid alcohol
- which may make it
- easier to fall asleep initially
- but raises body temperature later.
Avoid showering with hot water after physical exercise
and replace it with cold baths.
Take a short nap (30 to 40 minutes before 2 p.m.) during the hottest hours of
the day, to compensate for lack of sleep without affecting nighttime sleep.