Heatwave leading to rising depression, anxiety disorders

Bhubaneswar: A gradual rise in temperature can lead to depression and anxiety with psychiatrists saymg rise in atmospheric temperature not just causes dehydration and sunstroke, but also causes seasonal affective disorder (SAD).
Depression in summer can affect all the age groups, including children. “The variation in the length of day and night affects the body cycles. For example, of one usually sleeps at 11, the brain is expectedly adapted to the same time every day. If there is variation, sleep cycle will get disturbed. In summer, many people complain of lack of sleep,” explained Shree Mishra, a psychiatrist in AIIMS, Bhubaneswar.
“This causes irritability and thus the social rhythm also changes in an individual. This in turn leads to anxiety disorder,” he added.
Doctors also said people who are under psychiatric medication need to watch out for as there are chances of falling sodium level because of some drugs. The psychiatric condition can be accentuated in that case.
“Maintaining a balanced routine and taking healthy diet and sticking to a disciplined sleep time are a few steps that people need to do, if they are fighting behavioural extremes in hot summer. Those having bipolar disorders, get more such episodes,” said psychiatrist Suvendu Mishra.
Because of exposure to sun and extreme hot weather, there are inflammatory changes in the body. Most people preferably have air condition in their bedrooms only and not in the living or other rooms, which remain comparatively hot. They spend most of their time in living rooms. In the morning, when they wake up and come to living room, their mood changes with the change in ambient atmosphere at home.
Dr Pallabi Sahu, psychiatrist, SCB medical college and hospital, Cuttack said at times people fail to gauge and make out of the circumstances leading to mood disorder. “In most of the people though, mood changes remain under manageable limits, in some it is not so. They have to consult doctors. Usually, it starts with mild symptoms that are unrecognisable by others but it progresses. Disruption in routine, particularly summer vacation of children, has also to do with mood swings,” said Dr Sahu.