Rising nighttime temperatures due to climate change are depriving people of sleep. On average, every person in the world loses more than 50 hours of sleep per year. This was reported by "Euronews".
The number of tropical nights is increasing in many regions of the world. A tropical night is a condition where the air temperature does not fall below +20 degrees Celsius even during the night. Such warm nights hinder a person's full rest and quality sleep.
The organization "Climate Central" analyzed the situation in over 1300 cities worldwide in a study covering the years 2020–2025. According to the results, the amount of sleep lost due to heat in almost all cities has at least doubled compared to the early 1970s.
The greatest sleep losses were recorded in the countries of the Middle East and Southeast Asia. In these regions, the population slept an average of 55–91 hours less per year.
In the early 1970s, residents of an average city with a population of approximately 500,000 lost an average of 46 hours of sleep per year due to nighttime heat. By the 2020s, this figure had reached 50 hours, and in the period 2020–2025, it reached 56 hours.
The authors of the study emphasized that one of the main reasons for this increase is climate change.
Which cities in Europe are experiencing the most sleep disruption?
The greatest sleep losses in Europe were recorded in southern regions. Including:
— In the city of Naples, Italy — 51 hours per year;
— In the Greek capital Athens — 45 hours;
— In the city of Valencia, Spain — 42 hours;
— In the Portuguese capital Lisbon and the city of Marseille, France — over 40 hours.
In Northern European countries, warm nights are also negatively affecting sleep. However, these figures are relatively lower. In the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, the population loses 21 hours of sleep per year; in the Swedish capital Stockholm and the Finnish capital Helsinki, 20 hours each. The lowest figure was recorded in the Norwegian capital Oslo — 18 hours.
According to experts, sleep is crucial for the normal functioning of the human body. At night, the body recovers, the brain rests, and the body repairs itself. When the air temperature does not decrease, the body may not get enough rest and could remain in a state of stress.
Sleep disruption can lead to worsened mood, decreased thinking and memory abilities, reduced work productivity, as well as an increased risk of diseases related to the cardiovascular and immune systems.
Another recent study showed that warm nights affect the sleep of people over the age of 65 twice as much as middle-aged people. It was also stated that women and people living in hot climates suffer more from the effects of high temperatures.
According to scientists, as global temperatures continue to rise, this disparity may increase further.
We remind you that earlier, the State Labor Inspectorate warned all mayoral offices in Uzbekistan not to use landscaping workers in abnormal heat.
