Recently more and more articles explore the implications of the rising temperatures on less obvious aspects of our lives. Recently we wrote a signal about how the rising heat affects our mood, stress, aggression and its impact on crime statistics. Today: our sleep.
A new study concludes that the average global citizen is already losing 44 hours of sleep a year due to rising temperatures. This number will only increase in the future, and the effects will be spread unevenly. “The sleep loss per degree of warming is about a quarter higher for women than men, twice as high for those over 65 years old and three times higher for those in less affluent nations.”
Rising temperatures generally impact our health in a range of ways, including increased heart attacks, suicides and mental health crises, accidents and injuries, as well as reducing the ability to work. Researchers suggest that since disturbed sleep affects us in a similar way, it could be a key mechanism in the link between heat and negative health effects.
With all the predicted ways in which climate change will increasingly shape our lives in the future (think about eco-anxiety, for example), there lies an opportunity for brands to assist people in mitigating the negative disruptions caused by climate change. Take for example a new initiative by Vattenfall, designed to ease people’s minds when they’re worried about the climate before sleep here.
