WWhen the temperature rises, so do suicide rates, crimeand violence. Twitter sees hate tweets and online attacks increase during heat waves, along with phrases that researchers have linked to anxiety and depression. Our own language captures the confluence of heat and emotion: when we’re upset, we “get hot under the collar”; when we are angry our “blood boils”; and when something becomes too much, we have to “let off steam.” Spike Lee’s seminal exploration of racial tension in the 1989s Do the right thing it takes place during the hottest day of the year, when searing temperatures fuel violent reactions. Doctors and scientists are now beginning to unravel the complex interplay between extreme heat and poor mental health outcomes.
Like another early season heat wave Hammers Northwest US, with Experts predicting more For the coming summer, it is increasingly important to understand how high temperatures affect the brain and, more importantly, how we can protect ourselves and others. “It’s easy to understand how going through a traumatic experience like a hurricane can affect mental health. The connection between heat and mental illness is not so intuitive,” he says. wahid young, a mental health expert at Georgetown University’s Department of Global Health. Wahid recently co-published a study in The Planetary Health Lancet showing that even a one degree rise in ambient temperature above the norm contributes to a greater likelihood of experiencing depression and anxiety. While his research focused on Bangladesh, the findings apply globally, she says. “There is a growing body of scientific literature identifying this link between climate-related factors and adverse mental health outcomes. And all indications are that as climate change continues to worsen, these links will strengthen.”
In fact, according to a 2018 study by Stanford economist Marshall Burke published in Nature Climate Change, a 1.8°F (1°C) rise in average temperature in the US and Mexico is correlated with a 1% increase in suicides, which translates to thousands of additional deaths each year. the burke studio Projects that if temperatures continue to rise as climatologists predict, the resulting rise will be enough to kill the combined efforts of suicide prevention programs and gun control policies in the United States.
The number of days of extreme heat is increasing each year due to climate change, fundamentally changing social interactions and personal well-being into a serious threat to mental stability, says Robin Cooper, an associate clinical professor at the University of California, San Francisco. and president of Climate Psychiatry Alliance. “We have to start thinking about climate change as a mental health crisis. If we ignore climate change as a public health threat, we are abdicating our role as health care providers.” That means investing more in research. Although it is well established that heat affects brain function, the exact mechanisms are poorly understood. Scientists point to a multitude of interrelated psychological, social, and biological factors ranging from sleep disruption to heat-altered function of vital neurotransmitters and hormones.
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spikes in suicides and events related to mania and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) They tend to occur in late spring and early summer when temperatures are most volatile, according to Josh Worzel, who studies the intersection of climate change, heat waves, and mental health at Brown University. “It’s not necessarily the hottest days of the year that are associated with the highest number of suicides and suicide attempts,” she says, “but rather when the temperature changes drastically.” Severe oscillations, like the one this week 15°-30°F Rising temperatures in parts of the Pacific Northwest are often the most dangerous.
Much of that goes back to the dream. Anyone who has survived a heat wave without the benefit of air conditioning knows that quality sleep becomes elusive. Over time, the cumulative effects can lead to memory loss, lack of concentration, and increased irritability, says Cooper. “Sleep is a deeply complex function, and a lack of restful sleep has many different ramifications for mental health.” Difficulty sleeping is often a trigger for manic episodes in people with bipolar disorder, she notes, an indication that it plays an important role in mood regulation. “Poor sleep quality may be one of the driving factors” behind the link between extremely hot days and declining mental health.
Heat also affects the neurotransmitter serotonin, one of our most important mood regulators, closely related to keeping aggression under control, according to Worzel. Serotonin helps relay information about skin temperature to the brain’s hypothalamus, which goes on to control shivering and sweating responses when necessary. Patients with depression often have difficulties with this process of thermoregulation; the fact that these problems may improve when patients take selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressants suggests a relationship between heat exposure and serotonin production.
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Climate trauma also plays a role, says Brit Wray, director of the Stanford Medical School program on climate change and mental health. “It’s not like everyone who survives a wildfire is going to develop PTSD. But it is much more difficult when the floods come and wash away everything that could have been left. And then you’re also dealing with other social stresses, maybe a financial downturn, maybe a pandemic.” Compound stresses on the mental system wear down resilience, at which point maladaptive coping mechanisms (substance abuse, domestic violence, suicidal ideation) take root. Then add the neurophysical impacts of extreme heat on the brain and the very real threat of heat waves on patients. already suffers from mental health disorders, and the repercussions on mental health increase. “It becomes a vicious cycle,” says Wray, on the sidelines of 2023 border forum, an annual event focused on society, health and science. “We definitely have a mental health crisis within the climate crisis that we need to overcome before too many of these events accumulate.” That means better support in the communities most affected and a better understanding of how climate change, trauma and mental health interact.
In recent years there has been increasing interest in how temperature and climate change affect mental health among psychiatrists, Wortzel says. The problem is that funding for future research is limited. “Climate change is now considered the number one public health problem. But there is not enough understanding of how it affects mental health. For us not to invest more at this time in how to understand the impacts of heat on the brain is unfortunate.” Unfortunate for the research, but also for the billions of people at risk of extreme heat in the next years. Heat waves are a fact of life in a warming world; more research can help us prepare.
This story was supported by the pulitzer center.
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