Climate Change Can Negatively Affect Sleep — But Here's What We Can Do

The review included 16 studies that focused on how climate change events like rising temperatures, extreme weather, floods, and wildfires affected people's rest. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the team concluded that climate change caused "diminished total sleep times and sleep disruption" across the board.

First, consider temperature: Since we sleep best in a cool, dark, quiet environment, warmer environments are bound to disrupt rest. "Being in hot, uncomfortable environments influences your ability to sleep deeply, to sleep soundly, to get to sleep, and to have a full night's sleep," Melissa J. Perry, ScD, MHS, a professor and chair at GW's Department of Environmental and Occupational Health and co-author on the study, tells mindbodygreen.

Extreme storms and natural disasters also, understandably, seem to have a negative impact on sleep and overall well-being in both the short and long term. Not only do they cause immediate harm and threaten safety, but they can also lead to lingering stress2, which has been shown to disturb sleep3 in the long run.

In this research, vulnerable populations—namely the elderly and low-income communities—were at the highest risk of losing sleep. They tend to be on the front lines of the worst impacts of climate change and don't have access to quality health resources once disaster strikes.

By highlighting these connections and inequities, lead study author and sleep doctor Daniel I. Rifkin, M.D., hopes to help more people "recognize the importance of sleep and sleep health, and how climate change will affect it," he tells mbg. Since high-quality sleep plays a huge role in everything from mental well-being4 to immune function, it should only become even more of a priority in a warming world.

There is still a lot we don't know about the association between sleep and climate, and both Rifkin and Perry agree that more research—particularly prospective studies that collect data on people's health before, during, and after a climate event—is necessary.

These early hints of climate change's impact on sleep only reinforce the need for environmental action. As world leaders return from the COP26 climate conference, keeping pressure on legislators to enact policies that keep our planet and our health safe is more essential than ever.

This research also reminds us of some harsh realities that lie ahead. Many Americans—especially those in western and northern states5, where nighttime temperatures are projected to increase most intensely in the coming decades—need to double down on sleep hygiene, brace for warmer nights, and prepare for more potential sleep disturbances.

Finally, this connection between sleep and climate can help inform the future of humanitarian work. Rifkin explains that the handbook for protocols in humanitarian and disaster relief does not once mention the importance of a healthy sleep environment.