How heat can impact mental health

AccuWeather

AccuWeather speaks with psychologist Dr. Susan Albers of the Cleveland Clinic. She shares how extreme heat can contribute to mental health issues such as anxiety, agitation and irritation.

Transcript

00:00How can extreme heat impact our moods and our actions?

00:05Studies have shown that excessive heat can trigger feelings of anxiety, irritation, agitation,

00:12and cognitive problems. During heat waves, we see a dramatic increase in emergency room visits

00:18due to mental health, suicide, domestic violence, crime. We know that heat doesn't cause mental

00:25health issues, but it does exacerbate them. Have you noticed a difference at all with

00:30your patients this week in your practice? How has the heat been impacting everyone's daily life?

00:37Our bodies and brains are so sensitive to temperature change. What I've noticed is that

00:44people are complaining of problem sleeping. The quality of our sleep is dramatically impacted

00:50by heat. People's heart rates are up. When we try and cool our bodies down, it releases cortisol,

00:57that stress hormone, and then that kicks you into that fight or flight mode. So that

01:01be why people are feeling a lot more agitated right now. It's a good time to check in on people

01:09who have mental health conditions to see how they're doing. Make sure that also the most

01:15important thing you can do is hydrate right now. Hydration

01:19is key to mitigating some of the negative effects of heat on mental health.

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