The vital role of sleep

Sleep is an essential cornerstone of overall health and daily functionality. As we age, our sleep patterns naturally shift, potentially leading to fragmented sleep and earlier waking times. Those changes are more than mere inconveniences; they can profoundly affect cognitive function, physical health and overall quality of life. Disrupted sleep can contribute to memory problems, increased fall risk and a decline in everyday activities. It can even affect mood and well-being. Consequently, unraveling the factors influencing sleep quality in older adults is pivotal for a more fulfilling aging experience.

Temperature’s effect

Interestingly, sleep tends to be more restorative and effortless in cooler environments, driven by our biological tendencies. As body temperature naturally drops at night, it aids in initiating and maintaining sleep. Warmer sleep environments, however, can disrupt this natural cooling process, disturbing sleep patterns.

My recent research delved into the relationship between biological sleep rhythms and ambient temperatures, with a specific focus on how nighttime temperatures affect sleep quality in older adults.

Monitoring sleep quality and ambient temperatures over 18 months among 50 older adults — many residing in a Hebrew SeniorLife community — revealed a critical insight. Optimal sleep quality was experienced when room temperatures ranged between 68 and 74 degrees Fahrenheit. Sleep quality diminished as temperatures exceeded 75 degrees. Intriguingly, each individual displayed a unique optimal sleep temperature, suggesting personal variations that might evolve over time.

Climate change, urban heat disruptors

Climate change, a term deeply embedded in our modern vernacular, is causing shifts in global weather patterns and temperatures. A lesser-known consequence is the increase in nighttime temperatures, which also can be exacerbated by the fact that urban areas often are warmer at night due to infrastructure replacing green spaces.

Intersecting challenges

The intersection of climate change and sleep quality for older adults is a critical concern. Warmer nights, a result of climate change, can disrupt sleep patterns, posing even greater challenges for aging individuals whose sleep patterns already are susceptible. The potential for sleep disturbances and associated health issues looms larger against the backdrop of climate change.

Strategies for improved sleep

Although the situation presents challenges, solutions are within reach. Adaptive strategies can help mitigate the effects of warmer nights on sleep quality for yourself and for the residents in your care:

• Personalized sleep temperature: Discover your optimal sleep temperature and adjust your environment accordingly, using fans or air conditioning to maintain comfort.
• Hydration: Ensure consistent hydration throughout the day, particularly during warmer periods.
• Breathable sleep attire: Opt for light sleep clothing and bed covers to regulate body temperature.
• Bedtime rituals: Engage in calming activities before sleep to facilitate rest.
• Diet consideration: Avoid heavy meals, high-sugar foods and stimulants near bedtime.

Community support, care provider roles

Communities and care providers have essential roles in managing the effects of rising temperatures on sleep quality. Integrating temperature management into care plans and fostering adaptive strategies for independent older adults are crucial steps. With the advent of smart home technology, monitoring and intervention are more accessible.

As we contemplate the implications of climate change, we must reevaluate our approach to urban design and infrastructure. Strategies such as natural shading, openable windows and energy-efficient architecture should take precedence.

The intricate interplay between sleep, ambient temperature and older adults’ well-being demands our focused attention. Recognizing this challenge is the first step. Through awareness, adaptable strategies, community support and investments in climate-resilient environments, we can navigate this complex issue and uphold the quality of life for older adults. In the face of climate change, those actions are not just prudent measures; they are essential adaptations for our collective health and well-being.

Amir Baniassadi, PhD, is a research fellow at Harvard Medical School and a T32 post-doctoral fellow at the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research at Hebrew SeniorLife, working on environmental health, and in particular, the health and well-being of older adults within the built environment.

The opinions expressed in each McKnight’s Senior Living guest column are those of the author and are not necessarily those of McKnight’s Senior Living.

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Chicago is the Windy City, but that doesn’t mean older adults there have to suffer through any winter breeze. 

An apartment complex in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood was one of five affordable senior housing sites chosen by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development to receive funding to renovate their facilities with green, weather-resilient technology.

Extreme US weather events — both hot and cold — are expected to increase in the coming decades, and certain older adults may be among the most vulnerable. Both age and illness sap the body’s ability to recover or protect against temperature spikes, the National Institute on Aging warns.

The HUD funding will provide the facilities with several retrofits, including solar panel installations, new roofing, updated heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems and other interior upgrades, according to a federal notice. 

The Chicago site also will be using the money to pay for rooftop greenspace, which should reduce air pollution both inside and outside the buildings and help keep temperatures low during the summer months, according to a report in Block Club.

The five affordable senior housing communities receiving HUD funding: 

• Corcoran Place Apartments in Chicago
• Hillcrest Village in Providence, RI
• Fairweather Salem Apartments in Salem, MA
• Greenspire Apartments in Stoughton, WI
• Spring Valley Crossing in Kalamazoo, MI

Overall, the residences are getting $28.4 million in funding, courtesy of HUD’s Leading Edge program. The program awarded more than $100 million overall last month.

Although the HUD program mainly is addressing facilities in the Northeast and Midwest, other senior housing operators in the Southwest are taking steps to become more weather-resilient and help mitigate climate change. That includes installing new solar panels, and, in the not-too-distant future, adding air conditioning units, the McKnight’s Tech Daily reported this summer.

Anna H. Grummon, PhD, from the Stanford University School of Medicine in Palo Alto, CA, and colleagues used dietary intake data from a sample of 7,753 US children and adults to identify simple, actionable dietary substitutions from higher- to lower-carbon foods (such as substituting chicken for beef in mixed dishes). The potential impact of these substitutions was simulated on dietary carbon emissions and dietary quality.

The researchers found that the total dietary carbon footprint in the United States would be reduced by more than 35% if all consumers who ate the high-carbon foods consumed a lower-carbon substitute. Consumers’ overall dietary quality would be improved by 4 to 10% if these substitutions were adopted, with benefits projected for all age, gender and racial and ethnic groups.

“It’s really a win-win,” Grummon said in a statement. “If you are a person who wants to make a dietary change for either health or environmental reasons and you make the changes that we propose, you’re likely to see the benefits you want.”

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Sixteen federal affordable housing properties are on the receiving end of more $1.34 million in new loans and grants to implement energy efficiency and climate resilient upgrades.

Last week the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced the awards for providers participating in the agency’s Green and Resilient Retrofit Program for Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly Program and other multifamily housing owners. The Leading Edge awards will be used to renovate the homes of 1,500 low-income households — including affordable senior housing units — to be zero energy and climate resilient. 

Among the recipients are National Church Residences, which received $3.4 million for its Spring Valley Crossing community in Kalamazoo, MI; Greenspire LIHTC Apartments LLC, which received $3.8 million for its Greenspire Apartments in Stoughton, WI; and Corcoran Preservation Associates LP, which received $5.6 million for its Corcoran Place Apartments in Chicago. All will fund renovations to low-income senior apartments.

“Our affordable housing provider members understand that threats of climate change and natural disasters disproportionately impact low-income older adults living in affordable housing,” LeadingAge President and CEO Katie Smith Sloan said in a statement. “These funds will allow our members to make energy-saving renovations in order to cut energy waste down to zero, increase resilience to extreme weather events worsened by climate change, and lower costs for families.” 

This is the second round of funding through the program, which will provide $800 million total in grant and loan subsidy funding to support up to $4 billion in loans. Established through the Inflation Reduction Act, the program provides money for direct loans and grants to fund projects that improve energy or water efficiency, enhance indoor air quality or sustainability, implement the use of zero-emission electricity generation, low-emission building materials or processes, energy storage, or building electrification strategies, or address climate resilience.

The program is “critical” to preserving the existing housing supply, according to LeadingAge Vice President of Housing and Aging Services Policy Linda Couch. The announcement, she added, is a “step in the right direction.” 

“Providers are eager to make much-needed property upgrades that will help to ensure buildings operate efficiently,” Couch said in a statement. “As demand for more affordable homes for low-income older adults continues to grow, now more than ever we need to ensure that our nation’s affordable housing communities are supported.”

In the Leading Edge category, property owners are required to commit to achieving green certifications — including Phius REVIVE or LEEDv4 Gold or Platinum — that will lead to significant property upgrades. Those upgrades can include on-site solar, wind turbines, FORTIFIED-rated roofing, and other substantial energy efficiency and climate resilience improvements.

The other two funding option categories are Elements, which provides funding for proven and meaningful climate resilience and utility efficiency measures in projects already in the process of being recapitalized, and Comprehensive, which funds properties with the highest need for climate resilience and utility efficiency upgrades.

To date, HUD has awarded more than $121 million in grants and loans in the first two program funding waves. It is the first HUD program to invest in energy efficiency, renewable energy generation, climate resilience and low embodied carbon materials in HUD-assisted multifamily housing. 

HUD plans to announce additional funding waves through May.

New virtual health options can help older adults by increasing accessibility to care and the monitoring of chronic conditions. But new research emphasizes another huge, important benefactor from telehealth: the environment.

The study quantified technology’s effects and concluded that even a hybrid model of virtual and in-person care can reduce carbon emissions by 25% and water consumption by 35%.

The US healthcare industry overall contributes to 8.5% of the country’s carbon footprint, study authors noted.

“Climate change poses the largest global threat to human health,” the authors wrote. “Global temperatures continue to rise, driving increasingly frequent extreme weather events such as heat waves, storms and floods, as well as disrupting food systems and increasing the transmission of disease.”

Some ways telehealth is beneficial to both older adults and the environment include:

• Cuts down on travel time by an average of 18 miles per visit
• Allows caregivers to view people’s lived-in environments, allowing them to offer advice on conditions within their home or long-term care residence
• Improves scheduling and patient/resident monitoring outside of a healthcare setting

The study, which was released last week, was conducted by Blue Shield of California and the consultant group Anthesis. 

New virtual care options offer up to 24/7 access for patients; for people who live in rural areas, telehealth becomes a valuable option where in-person alternatives may require long commute times or don’t exist at all. However, that does add a requirement for some LTC communities for improved connectivity, experts have written for McKnight’s.

Climate change itself is something that could adversely affect older adults’ health, particularly those who live in the Sun Belt or the Southwest, where an increase in extreme heat events is leading to more deaths. 

Within senior living communities or nursing homes, options such as solar panels and solar water heaters may not offer a direct impact on residents’ health, but they can provide renewable electricity and lower energy bills, as the McKnight’s Tech Daily recently reported.