Extreme Heat Contributes to Worsening Mental Health

Extreme Heat Contributes to Worsening Mental Health

It’s a well-known fact that weather conditions can significantly impact both physical and mental well-being. Extreme heat can result in severe mental health issues, and there have been documented increases in mental health-related emergency room visits and psychiatric hospitalizations in the hot summer months.

Intense heat is usually associated with fatigue and feeling unmotivated, as high temperatures can affect energy levels as the air often feels oppressively heavy in hot weather.

Studies have found that some medications like antidepressants can impact the body’s ability to regulate temperature, which means people living with mental illness are often at higher risk of heat-related death from heatstroke and heat exhaustion.

Extreme heat not only affects the physical health of people living with mental illness but can also exacerbate the symptoms of mental health conditions. In this article, we’ll examine how extreme heat contributes to worsening mental health.

 

Impacts of extreme heat on behavior

According to a study in Toronto, temperatures above 82 degrees Fahrenheit (28 degrees Celsius) led to increased emergency room visits for conditions such as mood disorders and schizophrenia.

A study in Australia produced similar results, with increased hospital admissions for mental and behavioral disorders by 7.3% during heat waves where the temperature remained above 80 degrees Fahrenheit ( 26.7 degrees Celsius).

There is evidence linking extreme heat and suicide. In the study published in Nature Climate Change, research showed an increase of 0.7% of suicides in the United States and 2.1% in Mexico for every 1-degree Celsius (1.8-degree Fahrenheit) rise in temperature. The same study showed an increase in depressive language, suicidal ideation, and decreased general mental well-being- all associated with increased temperature.

Loss of sleep is another effect of high temperature, and sleep deprivation can worsen depression, anxiety, and mood disorders and profoundly impact cognition. It also has the potential to decrease coping abilities.

Vulnerable people with mental illness are at risk the most from extreme heat

The effects of extreme heat and other climate change-related events tend to affect some of the most vulnerable populations the hardest. There has been an established link between poverty and mental illness. This includes those who live in substandard housing and the homeless who have little control over their surroundings and have little ability to protect themselves from heat exposure.

People who take certain psychiatric medications are also at higher risk of heat-related illnesses. For example, antidepressants and antipsychotics can affect the way the body regulates temperature, and people with mood disorders can experience drastic changes in symptoms as temperatures rise.

Those who live with substance use disorders are also more vulnerable to adverse heat-related mental health effects. Studies have shown a link between increased heat, overdoses, and alcohol poisoning.

While investigating the accelerating climate crisis, the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism found calls relating to substance abuse more than doubled in Baltimore, Maryland, during a dangerous heatwave in the summer of 2018.

 

VR as an option for heat-related mental health symptoms

Even though there is little that many people can do to control their environment when it comes to extreme heat, effective treatments can manage the mental health symptoms that hot temperatures and high humidity can exacerbate.

Virtual reality (VR) is changing the landscape of mental health treatment with its immersive therapeutics. VR products such as the one Amelia Virtual Care provides have been used to manage stress, mood disorders, schizophrenia, phobias and help people manage their overall mental wellbeing.

 

Other articles that might interest you:

Share
Contents
Related Articles
Fibromyalgia Pain Management featured image
Fibromyalgia Pain Management: Virtual Reality as...
About 1 in 20 people globally are affected by fibromyalgia. Nearly 5 million adults have...
Read more
Say Goodbye to Back Pain: Innovative Pain Management Solutions for Long-Lasting Relief
Say Goodbye to Back Pain: Innovative...
Do you suffer from back pain? You’re among millions who face this struggle every day....
Read more
Chronic Pain Management: How Virtual Reality Offers New Hope featured image
Chronic Pain Management: How Virtual Reality...
`Chronic pain affects over one-quarter of the US population and is one of the most...
Read more
virtual reality and pain management featured image
Revolutionizing Pain Relief: How Virtual Reality...
51.6 million adults, or about 21% of the U.S. population, live with chronic pain, which...
Read more
How Virtual Reality is Revolutionizing Occupational Therapy for Sensory Disorders Featured image
How Virtual Reality is Revolutionizing Occupational...
Ever felt the cold breeze or droplets of rain against your face? Have you felt...
Read more
How Virtual Reality Transforms Occupational Therapy for ADHD
How Virtual Reality Transforms Occupational Therapy...
About 3.1% of adults1 worldwide live with ADHD, and the US national rate of ADHD...
Read more
How Virtual Reality Enhances Occupational Therapy for Autism featured image
How Virtual Reality Enhances Occupational Therapy...
About 1 in 36 children and 1 in 45 adults in the U.S. have autism....
Read more
virtual reality for rehabilitation in parkinson's disease featured image
How Is Virtual Reality Helping Parkinson’s...
With nearly one million people in the U.S. currently living with Parkinson’s disease (PD), and...
Read more
virtual reality treatment for ptsd featured image
Using Virtual Reality to Treat PTSD:...
Did you know that 70% of adults experience at least one traumatic event in their...
Read more