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Researchers have just discovered something surprising about what makes sleep apnea worse \u2014 and it has nothing to do with your body type or bedroom setup.<\/p>\nResearchers have just discovered something surprising about what makes sleep apnea worse \u2014 and it has nothing to do with your body type or bedroom setup.<\/p>\n
A 2025 American Thoracic Society Conference study found that rising temperatures make sleep apnea much more severe.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019ve ever tossed and turned on a hot summer night, sweating under the sheets and waking up feeling tired, it won\u2019t surprise you that scientists have known for some time that heat can disturb sleep.<\/p>\n
But this is the first large-scale study to investigate whether hot weather worsens sleep apnea and increases its prevalence.<\/p>\n
The team, led by scientists from Flinders University in Australia, used data from more than 116,000 people across 41 countries.<\/p>\n
Most participants were middle-aged (around 49 years old), and about three-quarters were men.<\/p>\n
All participants used an FDA-approved under-mattress sensor that tracked their sleep every night between 2020 and 2023. On average, each person had about 500 nights of data recorded.<\/p>\n
The researchers then compared this sleep data with 24-hour outdoor temperatures using advanced climate models.<\/p>\n
They focused on the severity of sleep apnea, defined as having 15 or more breathing interruptions per hour of sleep, and tracked how this changed in response to rising temperatures.<\/p>\n
They found what they expected:<\/em><\/p>\n 2.\tThe effect was strongest in European countries, where the risk doubled or tripled on hotter nights.<\/p>\n 3.\tIn Australia, the risk went up by 40% to 95%, while in the US, it increased by 10% to 40%.<\/p>\n 4.\tThe connection between temperature and sleep apnea severity was statistically significant in 29 countries.<\/p>\n 5.\tThe added burden of heat-related sleep apnea in 2023 alone was estimated to cause over 786,000 years of healthy life lost due to illness or death.<\/p>\n 6.\tWorkplace productivity also took a hit, with estimated losses of 32 billion US dollars worldwide in 2023 due to sleep apnea worsened by heat.<\/p>\n 7.\tLooking ahead, if global temperatures rise by two degrees Celsius or more, sleep apnea\u2019s global impact could increase by 1.5 to three times by the year 2100.\n<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n So, rising temperatures are already making sleep apnea worse\u2014and climate change threatens to dramatically increase this health burden in the coming decades.<\/p>\n To reduce your risk, use fans, air conditioning, or cooling mattress pads to maintain a comfortable sleeping temperature during heat waves. Staying hydrated during the day and taking a cool shower before bed might also help.<\/p>\n\n