Did you know that climate change affects your sleep?

Experts have called climate change as the global variation of the climate on the planet due to natural causes, but mainly to human action, which translates into burning of fossil fuels, loss of forests and other activities produced in the industrial, agricultural and transport fields, among others. However, we have little dimensioned the impact of these variants on our quality of life, we usually focus on damage to the environment. Well, a recent study published by One Earth warns that climate change will affect our hours of sleep, as high temperatures will result in less sleep. The results of this analysis establish that by 2099 people will sleep up to 58 hours less per year, due to the effects that heat waves will generate. The researchers had 47,000 adults in 68 countries wear sleep-tracking wristbands for six months on average between 2015 and 2017, as a result it was determined that the probability of sleeping less than the recommended minimum 7 hours a year at night increased by 3.5 percent if the outside temperature was above 25°C at night, compared to temperatures in the range of 5°C to 10°C.Es, the warmer the nights, the decreased sleep time by around 14 minutes. Kelton Minor of the University of Copenhagen said the study provides the first evidence that warm temperatures will eventually significantly affect human sleep. The elderly, residents of low-income countries, women and those who already live in warmer climates are disproportionately affected,” highlights the Publication of One Earth.Because this is the panorama that climate change throws at us on another edge of our lives, the effects of high temperatures around the planet are already occurring: Europe and the United States are experiencing an intense heat wave with loss of human and animal life; in Africa, birds fall plummeted by high temperatures and in Mexico we live an intense drought that is affecting productivity and economic activities.What else do we need to live to detonate collective action against the pollution of our ecosystems? As a generation we have a crucial role to play in slowing down the changes that the planet is undergoing. Let’s start from home recycling, making efficient use of water and electricity, consuming local products, avoiding single-use plastics, let’s not expect forceful actions from authorities, companies or civil organizations. It is everyone’s survival that is at stake.



Original source in Spanish