How can heat waves impact our mental health?
Thanks for asking.
The word heat wave is on everybody's lips, with record temperatures expected in the UK
this Tuesday and the government having issued its first ever national emergency red alert
for heat.
It's expected that hundreds or even thousands of excess deaths will be recorded.
We're all aware of the physical risks associated with extreme heat, like dehydration and
fainting for example.
But the number of scientific studies have shown that heat waves can also have a major
impact on people's mental health.
Who is most affected?
The effects can be more or less striking depending on the person.
There's a certain amount of stress involved for pretty much everyone during a heat wave,
because we often need to change plans at short notice to adapt as best as we can.
Among the most impacted are the elderly, those who live alone and those with pre-existing
health conditions, they may become depressed or even fear for their survival.
For some people it may be a moond dip, increased anxiety or trouble getting a good night's
sleep.
But there can be other more serious consequences too.
Studies have proven correlations between high temperatures and manic episodes in people
with bipolar and the general number of suicides and suicide attempts.
It's important to highlight that the difference can be experienced by anyone, not just those
with existing psychiatric conditions.
One thing is for sure, the vast majority of us are more anxious when temperatures are
high, and it makes sense that we get more irritable when you consider how our bodies work.
Heat causes our heart rate, pulse, blood pressure and cortisol levels to all increase.
Meanwhile it deregulates so-called Happy Home on Serotonin and Dopamine.
What do researchers have to say about it?
An international study from researchers at Berkeley University, Princeton University and
the University of California highlighted how heat led to increased human conflict and
violence in every region of the world.
For example, personal violence increased 4% when temperatures went up by just one degree
Celsius, including murder, rape, assault and domestic violence.
Other types of crime are also impacted, like intergroup violence and institutional breakdowns.
A more recent study was published in JAMA's Psychiatry in February 2022.
This time carried out by a team at Boston University.
It proved that on the hottest days across the 2010s, hospital admissions for mental health
emergencies went up 8%.
There in mind that people who have fans or aircon at home are much less affected than those
who don't, meaning social inequalities also come into play.
Regular listeners may remember our episode on the subject from last year.
It's a feeling that we'll only get worse during a heat wave and is only likely to become
more common in the coming years.
Indeed, researchers shown that younger generations feel more worried about the state of the planet
and helpless at not being able to protect it.
JAMA could become the worst time of the year for planet Earth, as well as for our mental
health.
The heat should serve as a reminder that we must take action every day to limit the devastating
effects of planet Earth's climate crisis.
There you have it!
Now you know how heat waves can impact our mental health.
In under 3 minutes, we aren't seeing your questions.
What would you like to know about?
Use the comments section to send us your questions.
