While Météo France placed 19 departments on heatwave red alert this Wednesday, August 23, experts recall the deleterious effects of heat on mental health.
- The heat affects mental health.
- Exposed to high temperatures, the body activates thermoregulation mechanisms and the brain is less irrigated.
- Studies have also shown that high temperatures increase the risk of conflicts.
High temperatures don’t just impact physiological health. They can also have repercussions on mental and mental health.
Extreme heat: stress for the body
Élodie Gratreau, doctoral student in the history and philosophy of psychiatric care techniques at the Costech laboratory, explains this phenomenon in the HuffPost.
“Physiologically, when it’s hot, our heart rate increases, the pulse is stronger, our blood pressure increases, and our cortisol level [l’hormone du stress] increases so we will tend to feel more irritable”.
The reactions vary however according to the individuals and this question would require additional studies notes the specialist.
To keep cool, the body abandons the brain
Another explanation: when it’s very hot, you can lack oxygen, which increases irritability and impulsiveness. Emotions become more difficult to manage.
In question ? The fact that the brain is less irrigated since the blood is sent in priority to the rest of the body to keep it cool by a mechanism of thermoregulation.
Heat causes conflict
And the consequences on our behavior are quantifiable. A meta-analysis of 60 studies, carried out by researchers from the universities of Berkeley and Princeton in the United States on the influence of the climate on the conflicts demonstrated an impressive reality.
According to scientists, a simple increase of 1°C compared to the seasonal norm is enough for the number of violence such as domestic violence, murder or rape, to increase by 4%, and the risk of civil war to 14%.
“We find strong evidence for the causal relationship between climate events and human conflict at different spatial and temporal scales and in all major regions of the world”, explain the authors.
