Summer has arrived and the heat is definitely on. Glom’s key mission is to expand awareness about psychology and provide broader access to accurate psychological information, tools and skills that can make our lives better.
To that end, there is some interesting and important new research happening related to extreme weather. As we all adapt to rising temperatures correlated with global climate change, psychological scientists are examining the effect heat has on our brains, behavior and cognition.
This article from the latest issue of APA’s Monitor on Psychology does a comprehensive job of highlighting what we are beginning to observe about excessive heat exposure’s effect on clinical disorders, crime, heat-related mortalities, and mood-regulating medications.
One key thing that struck me was that all psychotropic medications except for benzodiazepines can hamper the body’s ability to manage heat. It was also reported that 6% of Americans are taking these prescriptions, according to Joseph Taliercio, PhD. This is a significant slice of people who may not even be aware of these important details & the potentially detrimental side effect.
Another key take away is that adolescents have unique risks factors for excessive heat exposure because of the their age and particular stage of brain development. (Clayton, S., et al., Mental Health and Our Changing Climate: Children and Youth Report, 2023). This is a vitally important thing to consider for children, who live in hot zones in the US in particular. We must also still consider those residing in places that are not traditionally warm, but are so in the summer months.
I know personally what a lack of food or dehydration does to my cognitive performance, so considering what heat adds to the equation is helpful. We could all benefit from a better understanding of how external environmental factors affect our executive functions, like decision making, performance and mood.
Finally, one specific study of 28 US cities found excessively warm days showed a 4% increase in robberies, a 9.4% increase in aggravated assaults and a disturbing 19.4% increase in homicides compared to the average (Thomas, C., & Wolff, K. T., Journal of Criminal Justice, Vol. 87, 2023).
Exploring new methods to manage heat exposure, including things like managing individual stress with enhanced self-care practices & seeking professional support & treatment when you notice significant mood-disruption in yourself should all be on the table. Policy changes mitigating social disparities can have positive effects as we navigate this “hot” new world 🌶.
Here’s a link to the full published APA article.
https://www.apa.org/monitor/2024/06/heat-affects-mental-health
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