How can people take care of their mental health on an ever-warming planet? Heat disturbs sleep. If you live in a place where you do not have access to air conditioning, this can further disrupt your sleep.

It is quite possible that heat may also affect people's daily mood. People should be prepared for extreme heat to come. We should not spend a lot of time outdoors in the sun or if we have to, we should make sure that we are well hydrated.

We have to rely on our social networks, too. It is about checking on yourself, but also on your friends and family, checking on your neighbours, making sure people around you know what resources are available and that they are looked after during periods of extreme heat.

There are drugs that affect our body’s ability to thermoregulate. Anti-schizophrenia drugs, for example. People who have schizophrenia and who take medication for it may have a reduced ability of their own body to thermoregulate. This is why you sometimes see people in extreme heat wearing layers and layers of jackets and clothing. This is because their body has lost its ability to thermoregulate due to drug use.

Many young people face additional levels of anxiety and stress around climate change.

Source: vbox7.com