The fact that the Earth is warming has been talked about for some time. Heat waves are hitting more and more areas and becoming more intense. Although it may not look like it at first sight, it is true. Scientists are now trying to find out how our brains react to the changing climate.

Hot flashes

A baby, just five months old, had a tonic-clonic seizure from overheating. His mother says the seizures recurred in hot weather. So the family cooled their young son in every possible way on hot summer days. At 18 months, Jake was diagnosed with Dravet syndrome. It’s a disease that accompanies the aforementioned seizures. They can be triggered by heat.

According to Sanjay Sisodiya, a pioneer in the field of the impact of climate change on the brain, Dravet syndrome is one of many neurological diseases that are exacerbated by temperature. In fact, he has found that heat also worsens epilepsy, stroke, encephalitis and multiple sclerosis. And they also affect migraines and a host of other ailments.

In Taiwan, for example, the risk of hospitalisation for schizophrenia increases with heat. In California, hospital visits for mental disorders, self-harm or intentional injury to another are said to increase with warmer temperatures. And it’s similar in Switzerland. There, too, the risk of hospitalization for psychiatric disorders increases with warmer temperatures. In addition, diseases from ticks, mosquitoes and bats are more easily transmitted in the heat.

Heat causes lethargy

Warm weather affects even practically healthy individuals. Recent research has suggested that heat waves slow people down. Heat stress affects thinking. According to Joe Allen, director of the Healthy Buildings Program at Harvard, there is evidence that our brains are susceptible to temperature abnormalities. According to research, hot heads had slower reaction times.

They used college students in the research. Those who lived in buildings without air conditioning had 13% lower performance on basic arithmetic tests and almost 10% fewer correct answers per minute. So it’s clear that high temperatures reduce performance. And not only in schools, but logically also in the workplace. It is therefore advisable to keep the temperature in the building at a certain level on hot days. Air conditioning makes sense.

How is it in the heat

In the heat, people can feel more obnoxious and are definitely slowed down. It is much harder to concentrate and they are more likely to act impulsively. Drivers honk their horns more often on hot days, and accidents are also more likely to happen. Heat also predicts more aggression in sports. And in fact, everyone feels uncomfortable in the heat. There are more fights. Heat can simply cloud the mind. Be cautious in the heat and protect yourself and your loved ones.