Global warming could make it harder to get good sleep, study says

BOSTON - Global warming could have a profound impact on our ability to get a good night's sleep.

It's hard to sleep when it's hot and muggy and, as temperatures rise around the globe, billions of people are going to have more difficulty getting some shut eye.

A new study looked at more than 47,000 people from 68 countries who wore sleep-tracking wristbands from 2015 to 2017.

Researchers found that on nights that were hotter than average, people slept less. They project that by the end of the century, we could experience at least two weeks of short sleep each year due to high temperatures.

Those who will feel the greatest impact will be the elderly, who tend to be more sensitive to temperature variations, and people with lower incomes.

Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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