Anyone who has lived through a heatwave—as millions did earlier this week in the Pacific Northwest, where temperatures spiked some 15°F to 30°F above normal—knows that extreme heat can make you irritable, uncomfortable, frustrated, and depressed. Indeed, suicide rates, violence, and crime go up on hot days. For many, especially those who aren’t used to such high temperatures, the temptation is to just put your head down and bear it until the heatwave ends. I mean, a few hot days aren’t going to kill you, right? Well, they could: According to the National Weather Service, heat causes more deaths each year than any other weather event. But extreme heat also has profound impacts on mental health. Scientists are only starting to figure out why. Last week, I spoke with a few mental-health experts to get a sense of what the mechanisms might be. - Poor sleep has a lot to do with it. The ideal sleep temperature is around 65°F, but if you don’t have AC, that’s impossible to achieve during a heat wave. Impaired sleep is often a trigger for manic episodes in those with bipolar disorder, an indication that it serves an important function in stabilizing our moods.
- Neurotransmitters can’t do their job. Serotonin, an important mood regulator that keeps aggression in check, doesn’t work as well in high heat, leading to mood swings and depression.
- Certain pharmaceuticals have side effects in high heat. Some antidepressants and anti-psychotics stop the body from sweating; others become dangerous when patients are dehydrated from sweating too much.
- Climate doomism kicks into high gear. Nothing brings home the reality of global warming like an intense heat wave.
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