Negative emotions about climate change are related to insomnia symptoms and mental health: Cross-sectional evidence from 25 countries

Abstract

Climate change threatens mental health via increasing exposure to the social and economic disruptions created by extreme weather and large-scale climatic events, as well as through the anxiety associated with recognising the existential threat posed by the climate crisis. Considering the growing levels of climate change awareness across the world, negative emotions like anxiety and worry about climate-related risks are a potentially pervasive conduit for the adverse impacts of climate change on mental health. In this study, we examined how negative climate-related emotions relate to sleep and mental health among a diverse non-representative sample of individuals recruited from 25 countries, as well as a Norwegian nationally-representative sample. Overall, we found that negative climate-related emotions are positively associated with insomnia symptoms and negatively related to self-rated mental health in most countries. Our findings suggest that climate-related psychological stressors are significantly linked with mental health in many countries and draw attention to the need for cross-disciplinary research aimed at achieving rigorous empirical assessments of the unique challenge posed to mental health by negative emotional responses to climate change.

Media Exposure to Climate Change, Anxiety, and Efficacy Beliefs in a Sample of Italian University Students

“…The relationship between acute meteorological disasters, such as floods, heat waves, and cyclones, and the subsequent anxiety experienced, is particularly well-documented [9][10][11][12], evidencing the threat of climate change to the mental health of individuals. Ogunbode et al [13] showed that mental health and psycho-social well-being can be influenced both directly, for example, through life experiences related to extreme weather events or natural disasters, and indirectly, through exposure to climate change news. Both have been found to produce a general increase in mental illness and emotional difficulties.…”

An investigation into the relationship between climate change anxiety and mental health among Gen Z Filipinos

“…Climate change can also affect people in subtle and indirect ways. For example, Ogunbode et al (2021) found that negative emotional responses to climate change correlate negatively with mental health and positively with insomnia symptoms. Similarly, Kabir (2018) found that people whose livelihoods are affected by climate change experience psychological stress because work is essential to their wellbeing.…”

Ask the Locals: A Community-Informed Analysis of Perceived Marine Environment Quality Over Time in Palawan, Philippines

“…Imagining a positive future can increase the likelihood of this future to become reality if people believe in their success, i.e., have a high level of self-efficacy ( Oettingen et al, 2009 ; Adriaanse et al, 2010 ; Kappes et al, 2012 ). Beyond the behavioral effects, positive expectations of the future can evoke higher resilience and psychological well-being ( Keyfitz et al, 2013 ; Stoknes, 2015 ), whereas negative expectations for the future, for example, in terms of the effects of climate change, can result in poor mental health ( Ogunbode et al, 2021 ). In a study exposing people to positive, negative, and neutral future scenarios, researchers found that the mere fact that people are engaged with their future increases their intentions to perform more sustainable actions (Richter et al, Under Review).…”