PLOS Mental Health<\/a>.<\/p>\nThe researchers defined \u201cextreme\u201d heat relative to what is typical for each parish, using percentiles rather than a fixed temperature. A \u201chot night\u201d in the study generally meant overnight low temperatures in the low to mid-70s in Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Lafayette and the mid- to upper-60s in Shreveport, which reflect the 90th percentile of what is typical for each area.<\/p>\n
The findings represent some of the latest research linking heat to mental health crises. Studies across the United States and internationally have found connections between higher temperatures and suicide deaths, emergency department visits for suicidal behavior, violent crime and domestic violence.<\/p>\n
Researchers say Louisiana, with its humid subtropical climate and rising nighttime temperatures, offers an example of how heat can strain both the body and the mind.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is consistent with what we\u2019re seeing in the broader literature,\u201d said Mostafijur Rahman, an environmental health researcher at Tulane who has studied the relationship between temperature and mental health and was not involved in the Louisiana analysis. \u201cThe strongest effects are often tied to nighttime temperature.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hot nights<\/p>\n
The Louisiana study examined 11,684 crisis hotline risk assessments conducted between 2019 and 2023 by VIA LINK, the nonprofit that operates the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the state. Researchers looked at whether suicide-related calls increased on the day of and up to two days after extreme temperatures.<\/p>\n
The strongest association was at night, rather than scorching temperatures during the day.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen it stays hot overnight, you don\u2019t get a break,\u201d said Sophia Ryan, the study\u2019s lead author and a geographer at UNC Chapel Hill who studies climate and mental health. \u201cYour body doesn\u2019t have a chance to cool down.\u201d<\/p>\n
Callers didn\u2019t necessarily mention heat as a stressor, Ryan said. But they did talk about difficulty sleeping and having fewer future plans.<\/p>\n
Researchers saw that kids were calling at an even higher rate than adults. During heat waves, typical social outlets like sports practice may be cancelled or interrupted, leading to more feelings of isolation, said Ryan.<\/p>\n
Heat as a warning<\/p>\n
The findings come as Louisiana continues to grapple with intensifying heat. While daytime highs have not increased dramatically in recent decades, minimum temperatures \u2014 nighttime heat \u2014 have risen steadily since 2000, according to the study.<\/p>\n
As Louisiana looks to another sweltering summer, the research suggests that heat waves could serve as a warning signal.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are predictable increases in demand,\u201d Ryan said. \u201cIf we know we\u2019re going to have a week of really hot nights, that may be a time to consider additional staffing or outreach.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rahman said lawmakers could consider policies to to keep air conditioning running during extreme heat. In northern states, utility companies are prohibited from turning off electric service during colder months. The same policies could be put in place in Louisiana for warmer periods, he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hot, sticky Louisiana nights when temperatures stay above 70 degrees have a measurable effect on residents’ mental health,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":375927,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[22522,103,61,60,410,411],"class_list":{"0":"post-375926","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-hardwall","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-ie","11":"tag-ireland","12":"tag-mental-health","13":"tag-mentalhealth"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=375926"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375926\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/375927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=375926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=375926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=375926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}