Facing the Heat: How Phoenix’s Scorching Temperatures Impact Mental Health

Recent studies have found an association between extreme heat and higher rates of mental health–related hospital visits.

PHOENIX — Researchers are beginning to better understand the possible effects constant exposure to extreme heat has on a person’s mental health.

In the last few years, studies published in various journals have highlighted how suicide rates tend to rise when there’s an increase in the monthly average temperature. Another study found that days of extreme heat were associated with higher rates of mental health–related hospital visits.

If summer seasons get any hotter, researchers fear that adverse mental health outcomes will become a bigger problem.

This research could have serious implications in a city like Phoenix, which faced a record-breaking heat wave last summer and regularly reports heat-related deaths as temperatures escalate.

Arizona’s public health data shows that the state experienced a peak in suicide-related events in July 2023, when Phoenix had an average daily temperature of 102.7°F.

Dr. Pope Moseley, an intensive care physician and professor at Arizona State University’s College of Health Solutions, said chronic heat exposure can disrupt signals sent to the brain, resulting in changes to someone’s mental health.

“That’s why you see people with dementia, anxiety, depression hospitalized during heat waves,” Moseley said in an interview earlier this summer.

Individuals taking psychotropic medications are especially at risk during intense heat waves because the drugs can impair a person’s ability to handle heat, according to the American Psychological Association.

Medical providers in the Valley are attempting to do everything possible to ensure residents have the necessary resources during the summer months.

Banner Behavioral Health Hospital in Scottsdale has seen a 14% increase in admissions, though it’s unclear if these admissions are related to heat and mental health.

Alexzis Figueroa, Banner Health’s director of behavior health services, said locals should check in with their medical providers to understand how side effects from medications could be affected by hotter weather.

It’s important for residents to have support systems in place, said Figueroa, and to adjust daily routines to minimize heat exposure.