Air pollution disrupts sleep, study shows
17/06/2010
Breathing problems while asleep can be made worse by high levels of air pollution, a new study has found.
The Harvard School of Public Health and Brigham & Women''s Hospital found that instances of sleep apnoea increase during the warmer seasons of the year.
Problems rose throughout the summer as levels of air pollution increased, the scientists found, although the exact mechanism for this is unclear.
"These new data suggest that reduction in air pollution exposure might decrease the severity of such sleep disruptions," explained study co-author Antonella Zanobetti.
More than 3,000 people were analysed in the study, which aimed to get a wide cross-section of society in terms of age, gender and whether the individual smoked or not.
Earlier this month, researchers at the department of psychiatry at Penn State University found that sleep-disordered breathing increases among primary school children between June and September.
Posted by Michael Ewing
