Increase in air pollution takes a toll on your sleep
The human respiratory system is extremely sensitive to short-term fine particulate matter changes even in relatively clean urban environments, a new study found.
A new study has revealed that even in cities where air pollution levels are below the World Health Organization's recommended daily exposure limit, poor air quality can still result in respiratory symptoms. Scientists from the University of Cambridge in the UK, Tsinghua University in China, and sleep technology company Sleep Cycle discovered that when pollution levels went up by 10 micrograms per cubic meter of fine particulate matter, there was a 2.4% increase in coughing over the following five days.
The researchers analyzed coughing sounds from nearly 100,000 users of the Sleep Cycle app in 32 cities across 12 countries over 500 days. This suggests that there may not be a safe threshold for air pollution exposure, but they emphasize that this study is purely observational. The lead researcher, Cecilia Mascolo from Cambridge, advised people to consider mitigating their exposure to air pollution through means like using masks or air filters.
Night-time coughing not only irritates the respiratory system but also disrupts sleep, potentially linking acute air pollution exposure to broader health issues. These can include cardiometabolic dysfunction, impaired cognitive performance, and neurodegenerative risks associated with poor-quality rest. The researchers also examined the 2025 Los Angeles wildfire season, finding that a 10-microgram-per-cubic-meter increase in particulate matter led to a 10% rise in nocturnal coughing, indicating that extreme air pollution episodes cause disproportionately large spikes in acute respiratory symptoms.
When examining air quality levels in Europe, the study analyzed 13 European cities, with average daily fine particulate matter concentrations ranging from 5.47 μg/m³ in Uppsala, Sweden, to 14.70 μg/m³ in Bergamo, Italy. The mean level across all 13 European cities was around 10.58 μg/m³. The World Health Organization recommends that daily exposure should not exceed 15 μg/m³ for more than 3 to 4 days per year.
Compared to the most polluted cities globally, such as Beijing (40.97 μg/m³) and Shanghai (33.48 μg/m³), European cities in the study exhibited low-to-moderate baseline pollution levels.
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