Extreme heat can impact your mental health

Sunshine isn't always the best medicine. As temperatures surge, so does the risk to your mental health.

Adrian Hinckley is briefly visiting the desert but already noticed the heat's effects.

"You're gonna really start to feel those negative emotions, you know, like depression, like exhaustion, like anxiety," said Hinckley. "I think people don't realize that getting overheated like that, you start to get tired, irritable, angry, you're not thinking clearly."

As medical director at Riverside University Health System, Dr. Michael Mesisca notices the surge of mental health patients during heat waves. 

"When your body temperature increases, all your emotions can become intensified," said Mesisca. "It's easier to become stressed, and so anxiety levels can increase, it kind of triggers your body's sympathetic response. So your heart rate rises."

In other words, it can trigger your fight-or-flight response. So what can you do to protect your mental health during extreme heat?

"Minimizing prolonged exposure to the heat, and some people are more heat sensitive than others, staying hydrated, not allowing yourself to get dehydrated," said Mesisca.

If you or someone you know is struggling with their mental health, Riverside County offers the following resources:

According to the American Psychiatric Association, extreme heat has been connected with various mental health impacts, including increases in irritability and symptoms of depression and an increase in suicide. APA said it could also affect behavior, adding to increased aggression, the incidence of domestic violence, and increased use of alcohol or other substances to deal with stress.

A study shows the association between hot weather and mental health. Researchers found a 2.2% increase in mental health-related deaths per 1°C rise in temperature. With the same temperature increase, there was a 0.9% increase in mental health illness.

The risk is even more significant for seniors and those with pre-existing mental health conditions. Another study found that people with schizophrenia were at much higher risk than others during an extreme heat wave.

“While many people are still coping with mental health challenges from the pandemic, exposure to extreme, even unprecedented, heat, can worsen psychiatric symptoms,” said APA President Vivian Pender, M.D. “APA believes the impacts of climate change, such as these extreme heat waves, threaten public health, including mental health.”

According to the APA, various factors contribute to the heightened vulnerability of individuals with mental illness. Those diagnosed with schizophrenia may encounter challenges related to body temperature regulation, and alterations in temperature can impact symptoms associated with mood disorders. Certain psychiatric medications, such as certain antidepressants and antipsychotics, can influence the body's temperature regulation.

"We encourage everyone to take precautions and to check on those who may be more vulnerable to the effects of extreme heat," said APA CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, M.D., M.P.A. "Health care professionals and community leaders must ensure that mental health is a key part of preparing for and responding to the increasingly common extreme weather events we're facing."

Heat may also impact your brain function. The brain chemical which helps regulate mood, serotonin, also known as the "happy chemical," is affected by high temperatures.