Global Public Health and Epidemiology Congress

🌍 When Sleep Becomes a Signal of Climate Vulnerability

🎤 Featured Speaker | G-PHEC 2026

We're delighted to feature Victor de Oliveira Liberale from Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Brazil, at the Global Public Health and Epidemiology Congress (G-PHEC 2026). He is a physician trained in Internal Medicine and Sleep Medicine whose work focuses on the intersection of sleep, population health, and social vulnerability.

Presentation

Sleep as an early warning signal of heat-related climate vulnerability: A public health framework for urban surveillance

What if changes in sleep could help identify communities at risk from extreme heat before severe health outcomes occur?

This innovative presentation explores sleep disruption as a potential early warning signal for heat-related climate vulnerability. It highlights how night-time heat, poor housing, urban heat islands, noise, overcrowding, and limited access to cooling can contribute to disrupted sleep and reduced ability to adapt to heat.

The proposed public health framework considers sleep quality, night-time awakenings, difficulty returning to sleep, non-restorative sleep, and next-day fatigue as potential surveillance indicators during heat events. These measures could complement conventional heat-health systems and help identify vulnerable populations earlier.

The approach is particularly relevant for older adults, people living with chronic diseases, shift workers, low-income households, and residents of densely populated urban areas, who may face greater exposure or reduced access to protective resources.