A recent study from researchers at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine and the University of Louisville suggests that factors such as air pollution, warm temperatures, high carbon dioxide levels, and ambient noise in your bedroom may disrupt your sleep.
This is concerning because disrupted or poor-quality sleep has been linked to numerous health issues, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, depression, and dementia.
The Research
This study is unique in that it is one of the first to examine multiple environmental variables within the bedroom and their impact on sleep efficiency.
Sleep efficiency refers to the percentage of time spent asleep compared to the total time available for sleep.
In this study, 62 participants were monitored for two weeks, using both activity monitors and sleep logs.
The results showed that higher bedroom levels of air pollution, carbon dioxide, noise, and temperature were independently associated with lower sleep efficiency.
Findings and Implications
The researchers found that high noise levels were associated with a 4.7% decline in sleep efficiency, high carbon dioxide with a 4.0% decline, high temperature with a 3.4% decline, and high levels of particulate matter air pollution (PM2.5) with a 3.2% decline.
Relative humidity and barometric pressure seemed to have no significant association with sleep efficiency among the participants.
However, higher humidity was linked to lower self-reported sleep quality and increased daytime sleepiness.
Most of the participants described their bedroom temperature, humidity, and noise levels as “just right,” regardless of their actual exposure levels.
This suggests that while people might feel comfortable with their bedroom conditions, their sleep might still be disturbed.
Next Steps
According to the researchers, additional studies are needed to explore potential interventions that might help improve sleep efficiency by reducing these factors.
For instance, simply leaving the bedroom door open might help lower carbon dioxide levels, while installing triple-pane windows could help mitigate noise.
The team also applied for funding to investigate whether planting trees might improve sleep and cardiovascular health by improving health behaviors and the bedroom environment.
The Bottom Line
While we might not always be aware of environmental factors affecting our sleep, this research highlights the importance of maintaining a suitable environment for quality sleep.
As we continue to experience urbanization and climate change, these findings suggest that changes to our bedroom environment could have significant implications for our sleep and overall health.
The study was published in Sleep Health.
Copyright © 2023 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
