According to a recent poll, over 70% of Americans have hard to fall or remaining asleep due to concerns about climate change and environmental challenges.
The problem appears to be particularly severe among young people. Nearly half of poll respondents aged 18 to 24 said they "always" or "often" lose sleep over environmental concerns.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine commissioned the survey, which received responses from over 2,000 adults.
A Sleep Stressor That Never Fades Away
All types of stressors can induce sleep disruption, such as a new job, relationship difficulty, or grief over a loss, said Indira Gurubhagavatula, a physician at the University of Pennsylvania, as per Inside Climate News.
We know that major news events can have a similar effect. So many political events, and certainly climate-related issues, which I believe more and more people are becoming aware of and concerned about, according to Gurubhagavatula.
It's not shocking, because we're all aware that more and more information regarding global warming is becoming available. People are experiencing longer periods of hotter heat than normal this summer.
Environmental challenges, such as climate change, are distinct stressors because they do not fade away when the brain processes them, like a new job or a relationship change might.
Climate change "doesn't have an immediate, short-term remedy," according to Gurubhagavatula.
So it can continue to be a problematic source of sleeplessness for a fairly long time.
And I believe that speaks to the importance of seeking help as soon as possible so that the impact on personal health and well-being does not last months or years.
She advises patients suffering from insomnia to avoid sleeping pills or alcohol, as well as utilizing electronic gadgets to unwind at night since they can lead to sleep disturbance.
Rather, she recommended that patients speak with a cognitive behavioral therapist who can assist figure out what is causing insomnia and try to treat the problem at the core.
Read more: How Previous El Niños Revealed Crucial Information About Climate Change
Climate change is being blamed for the demise of alpine bees
A new study led by Webster University Biology Associate Professor Nicole Miller-Struttmann, the University of Missouri at Columbia Professor Emerita Candace Galen, and University of Missouri Ph.D. student Zack Miller has identified a critical piece of the puzzle for a question that has vexed scientists tracking biodiversity as the climate warms: why are once abundant species declining?
Their research, which drew on many years of observations from three peaks in the Rocky Mountains, discovered that at high elevations above timberline, known as "alpine" zones, bumble bees are losing territory, a process that reflects their limited tolerance to warmer temperatures, as per Phys.org.
Colonizing bumble bees from lower elevations thrive as the alpine climate warms, potentially displacing alpine resident species.
If the current trend continues, populations of alpine bumble bees may become extinct very soon.
To grasp the issue, one must understand how alpine bumble bees have adapted over millennia to high-elevation living.
Because temperatures have historically been very cold at high elevations, the summer growing season has been short.
Alpine bumble bees presumably evolved by cramming their foraging activities and reproductive phase into a quick burst that now misses out on blooms at later times throughout a longer, warmer season.
Lower-elevation bumble bees are more flexible in their foraging schedules and have moved upward with climate change.
Their more opportunistic tendencies allow them to make use of resources that their alpine counterparts do not.
Related article: North American Birds Still Not Fully Adjusted Due to Climate Change, New Study Finds