Feeling the Heat?

How Body Temperature Affects Your Mood (and What You Can Do About It!)

As summer's relentless heat continues, casting a languid spell over our days, many find themselves adrift in sluggishness and discontent.

Having lived in Thailand for 15 years, I've experienced the impact of heat on my own and many expats’ moods and vitality.

I also observed the unspoken connection the locals make between mental qualities and climate adaptation.?

Recent research suggests that our ability to regulate body temperature (thermoregulation) plays a bigger role in mental health than we considered.?

Just like a car overheating or freezing, when the internal temperature goes awry, it can throw everything off kilter.

Thermoregulation Challenges:

Our bodies are like tiny climate control systems, constantly working to maintain a comfortable internal temperature (around 37°C or 98.6°F).

When faced with extreme heat, however, this system can get overwhelmed. Some of the signs you might be struggling with thermoregulation:

• Feeling constantly hot or cold: Health is adaptation, nothing is constant. Pay attention to how your body feels even in seemingly moderate temperatures.
• Constant sweating: While sweating is a natural cooling mechanism, excessive sweating can be draining.
• Chills and goosebumps: Sometimes our bodies try to conserve heat when they're struggling to regulate, thus, we feel cold inside although overheated.
• Disrupted sleep:? Cooling and staying cool at night is crucial for good sleep. People with depression experience a significantly smaller temperature difference between sleep and wakefulness compared to healthy individuals.
• Fatigue and trouble concentrating: Feeling drained and fuzzy-headed is a common sign of disruptions of thermoregulation although often attributed otherwise.
• Increased heart rate: The body works harder to cool itself down, leading to a faster heart rate and feeling on edge. HRV is also impacted, especially when on heart rate-affecting medication.?

Effects on Mental Health:

Thermoregulation challenges can directly impact mental health.?

• Depression:? higher levels of depressive symptoms are associated with higher body temperatures during time awake and reduced ability to reduce body temperature at night. This disrupts sleep, which can worsen depression symptoms.
• Anxiety: The body's stress response can trigger feelings of anxiety. When combined with the physical discomfort of heat, anxiety increases.
• Reduced cognitive function: Focus, memory, and decision-making are impacted by thermoregulation disruptions via the impact on brain activity and hydration.?

During a heatwave, we hear the most simplistic of practical tips recommended to manage and improve thermoregulation.?

Splashed everywhere and repeated mindlessly by media or friends they have a purpose in the short term and for first exposures:?

• Stay Hydrated: Drink plenty of [ionised, mineralised] water throughout the day to help your body manage heat more effectively.?

Simple, tap water intake may have the opposite effect, adding to the intra-cellular water depletion.?

• Dress Appropriately: Wear lightweight, breathable clothing to facilitate heat dissipation.
• Use Cooling Techniques: Take cool showers, use fans, and apply cold compresses to pulse points.
• Create a Cool Environment: Use air conditioning or fans to maintain a comfortable indoor temperature.

When you really want to improve your general health, particularly mental excellency, smarter approaches are necessary.

Why Thermoregulation?

Thermoregulation is a capacity of the human body that can be trained.?

Body temperature control is closely connected with:

• metabolic heat production,?
• bodily-based and central nervous system fine controlling systems,?
• hormonal balance,?
• immune system function and micro-inflammation levels
• chronic stressors impact
• medications (including psychiatric drugs and psychoactive substances) reduce thermoregulatory mechanisms

Solutions for Improving Thermoregulation

It might sound counterintuitive, but exposing the body to controlled heat can help regulate temperature.

How??

• physical training in hot environments
• sauna therapy
• yoga therapy and hot yoga
• perception of temperature

1. Physical training in hot environments

Heat acclimation and acclimatisation are the processes of adapting to hot climates through gradual exposure.?

They are crucial for professionals working in hot environments for extended periods, like soldiers or aid workers.?

Research proved them effective, though requiring careful supervision.

2. Yoga therapy

Specific yoga for health interventions regulates the body’s ability to easily adapt to weather changes.

Camel pose, Agnisara Kriya, and Vyana Vayu practices are generally recommended.

In yoga therapy, individualised recommendations prevail - talk to a specialist, not a 200hrs freshly graduated enthusiast.

3. Hot Yoga?

Western Hot Yoga can enhance the body's ability to regulate temperature.?

The controlled heat environment not only aids in flexibility and detoxification but may also improve mental resilience by training your body to handle stress more effectively.

4. Sauna therapy

Thai summers seem like an open-air sauna. For many foreigners, sauna sessions feel clearly misplaced in the tropics.?

Nevertheless, steam and herbal baths are commonly used by locals. I can vouch for their efficiency in regulating one’s adaptation to further heated days and nights.

Regular sauna sessions not only relax but can also improve your body's ability to cool down.?

This can have surprising benefits for the overall well-being, including mental health

5. Mindfulness and stress management

Perception of temperature and interpretation of weather changes are highly individual.

A stressed person is always more sweaty and puffy than a cool calm-minded one.

Chronic stressors shift the way one reacts to heat waves.?

Mediatic hysterical warnings do the opposite of calming or preparing.

Techniques like meditation or deep breathing help manage stress and potentially aid thermoregulation, as suggested by research in MDPI (link in resources).

6. Natural remedies

There are plenty of traditional recommendations with cooling effects. Some examples to consider:?

Cooling Herbs: Coriander, mint, fennel, basil, turmeric, and aloe vera are commonly used.

Cooling Spices: Cardamom, cumin, and coriander are frequently included in cooling spice blends.

Cooling Foods: Cucumber, coconut, watermelon, leafy greens, and yoghurt are considered cooling.

Nevertheless, hot weather countries are famous for using most pungent ingredients in their diets and drinking hot teas to regulate their temperature.?

Individualisation and person-to-person adaption are key elements for everyone.?

7. Electrodermal Activity (EDA) Biofeedback

EDA measures the skin's electrical activity, providing insights into stress levels and emotional states.?

Using EDA biofeedback can help monitor and manage stress, aiding in maintaining a balanced body temperature.

Conclusion?

Good thermoregulation capacities are essential for both physical and mental health.

We are integrated mind-body unity organisms.

Mental health must be addressed holistically!

Stay cool and take care of your mental health!

#Health #Wellness #HotYoga #Sauna #MentalHealth #Thermoregulation #EDA #StressManagement #ThailandInsights

Feel free to share your experiences and insights on managing stress and maintaining a balanced body temperature.

For individual insights and management of mental health support, please visit: mihaielapentiuc.com?

References and Further Reading?

For more detailed insights, check out the following resources:

• Nature: Associations between body temperature and depression might be relegated to the realm of academic interest were it not for data showing that interventions directly targeting thermoregulatory systems have yielded antidepressant effects. [Link to study]
• MDPI: Stress and thermoregulation [Link to study]
• ScienceDirect: The impact of stress on human thermoregulation and temperature regulation: a review [Link to study]