As extreme heatwaves spread throughout several regions of the United States, experts warn that extended exposure to high temperatures significantly impacts people's mental health.
In addition to causing physical pain and discomfort, high temperatures harm cognition, decision-making, communication, and sleep habits.
According to experts, the condition may even be connected to an upsurge in violent crime and suicide. Hence, mental health doctors encourage people to take care and get help since these effects are seen both during temperature spikes and in areas with regularly hot weather.
Dr. Joshua Morganstein, Chair of the American Psychiatric Association's Committee on the Psychiatric Dimensions of Disaster, emphasizes that high temperatures can impair cognitive functions like clear thinking, decision-making, and effective communication. He also links these effects to sleep disruption and mental health, according to ABC News.
Extreme heat also interferes with sleep; research has connected it to higher chances of violence and suicide. Dr. Beth Oller, a family physician, explains that even temperatures over 70 degrees Fahrenheit may cause diminished sensations of joy, more tension, rage, and weariness. These effects intensify when temperatures rise over 90 or 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
Dr. Morganstein stresses that extreme heat puts pre-existing mental health conditions at risk. Several mental illness drugs may disrupt the body's temperature regulation, making it more vulnerable to heat-related disorders. The American Psychiatric Association believes severe and chronic mental illness puts individuals susceptible.
Hotter Weather, Higher Suicide Rates
An alarming link has been found between increasing temperatures and suicide rates, according to 2018 research by Stanford economist Marshall Burke that was published in Nature Climate Change, cited by a Time report.
In the US and Mexico, a 1.8°F (1°C) change in average temperature is connected to a 1% increase in suicides, resulting in thousands more deaths each year. Climate experts expect rising temperatures to undermine US suicide prevention and gun control measures.
Climate change's hotter days have disrupted social relationships and threatened mental health. Robin Cooper, president of the Climate Psychiatry Alliance, also serving as an associate clinical professor at the University of California, San Francisco, advocates additional research into climate change's complex psychological, social, and biological repercussions. She also calls it a mental health catastrophe.
Addressing Vulnerability, Mitigation
Some persons are more vulnerable to heat's mental health impacts than others. According to research, per New York Times, heat affects women and low-income people more than males and high-income people.
As heat waves become more frequent and severe, experts suggest staying hydrated, being conscious of heat exposure, and seeking cooler locations. Promoting community and looking out for one other may reduce the mental health risks of severe heat.
Climate change-related heat-related mental health crises need an immediate response. Communities and government authorities must acknowledge the significant effects of heat on mental health and collaborate to provide practical remedies and support networks.
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