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A 2025 study by Fricke and colleagues observed stress responses even at moderate temperatures (82.4°F).

Excessive heat is associated with increased risk of stroke morbidity (10%) and stroke mortality (9%).

Excessive heat is associated with inflammation, neuroinflammation, and sleep problems.

Though the summer has ended, the threat of excessive heat will return, and studies indicate it will get worse. Heat is certainly uncomfortable, and it can make you feel exhausted and irritable, especially when it fails to relent at night.

More than just a subjective feeling, heat stress can have a serious impact on one’s health. Excessive heat can increase the risk of major cardiovascular events like stroke and heart attack. It can also contribute to inflammation, neuroinflammation, and sleep problems. Taken together, these factors can compromise individuals’ physical as well as mental health, especially for those with an underlying condition.

This post explores the effects that heat can have on one’s wellness and is meant to serve as a reminder that your physical health and your mental health are deeply intertwined. It all begins with something that everyone has experienced: stress.

Heat as a Form of Stress

Stress is not just a subjective feeling of irritation or a sense of being overwhelmed; it has a measurable impact on blood pressure, heart rate, respiration, and other functions managed by the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The ANS is divided into two branches, the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). The SNS is activated by stress or perceived dangers (resulting in fight-or-flight responses), while the PNS is activated when the stressor or perceived danger has passed (resulting in rest-and-digest responses). As a simple analogy, the SNS is like the gas........

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