Atmospheric weather and human behavior maintain surprising relationships that Antoni Bulbena, professor of Psychiatry and head of the anxiety unit at Hospital del Mar in Barcelona, is trying to uncover. Almost 40 years of work have allowed him to know thousands of cases of conduct, also influenced by the changing weather and climate.
Do heat waves generate violence?
Faced with the thermal increase, many people show reactions with an increase in aggression. We did a study on the heat wave of 2003, in which many deaths were recorded. We also studied what happened in psychiatric emergencies. Patients were more aggressive. And they also drank more. We saw it clearly.
Have you continued to make these observations?
Yes. In 2013, the scientific magazine Science established the relationship between rising temperatures and increases in conflicts. A formula has even been established that relates it. For each deviation from the standard there is a 4% increase in conflicts between individuals and a 14% increase between groups. It was also seen that many war conflicts coincided with times of heat episodes, such as the one that began on July 18, 1936, for example.
What is it due to?
It's related to intolerance, to changes in our neurotransmitters and receptors, although that's something we're not sure about. The heat seems to lower our tolerance, it makes us fight more. We are more inclined to act. We weren't the first to see it. In schools or prisons there is more commotion. There is no doubt that during episodes of heat, apart from handing out water and fans, people should be warned that this happens.
Is there a relationship between heat waves and male violence, gender violence?
A study has seen this relationship [Heat wave and the risk of intimate partner violence, published in Science of the total environment in 2018]. It is a hypothesis that confirms itself. This summer, with many hot days, we have seen a lot of gender violence. I'm not an opinionated person, I try to keep up to date.
What other situations does heat trigger?
The Climate Psychiatry Alliance, in the guidelines on climate change, relates it to an increase in suicides, which is a form of aggression, with ourselves, in this case. It is an intolerance towards oneself.
What other relationships have you found between weather and psychological conditions?
We found, together with a team of climatologists, such as Jordi Cunillera, that on days when there is a hot westerly wind, especially in autumn, there is an increase in panic attacks. There are three times as many cases. And on the contrary, when it rains, the cases drop by half, they are twice as frequent. Distress has a lot to do with the hot inland wind phenomenon, and the rain relieves or lightens it. The study was carried out at the Hospital del Mar for a whole year, collecting statistical data.
The rain calms down.
Yes, we saw that when it rains the panic attacks disappear. Rain relaxes, except if it rains for many days in a row, because then another factor comes into play: light. And it is a factor that is not considered. A group of Australian scientists has highlighted the value of natural light versus artificial light. We know the great therapeutic value of light. When you suffer from jet-lag (time imbalance) after a trip, if you are exposed to light for a few days, the vital clock is adjusted.
And what should we do to avoid aggression? Relax, turn on the air conditioning?
We should know that in hotter moments we human beings become more aggressive, although it may not happen to everyone. And you need to take the appropriate behavioral measures: increase response time, reduce fights, don't easily fall into a frenzy. And, secondly, you need to take cooling measures: putting on air conditioning or putting in more ventilation also helps to make these phenomena less intense.
Are there also relationships between weather and seasonal behavior?
In winter we see an increase in cases of seasonal affective disorder, it alludes to the state of mind; it's what they call winter depression. And, on the other hand, in the summer they go down, it heals. It's a type of lethargic depression, it's people who are hibernating, eat more carbs, stay in bed more, gain weight, maintain social distance and are angrier, and all this happens when the light is low. That's why we treat the depression of winter with light.
And why doesn't it happen in the summer?
In the summer, euphoric moods increase because the light increases mania, which is the opposite of depression.
And is it true that depression rises in the spring?
Yes, and in the fall even more.
Why does depression rise?
There are data from several biochemical indicators that tell us that changes in time and changes in season modify various receptors on which medicines act.
And what is observed in the summer?
We see that the cases of euphoria, of being exalted in a positive sense, are increasing. It is also related to light, which is why we say that light has therapeutic efficacy.
When are there more suicides?
They rise in spring and fall, the two times when we see more of them, just like depression.
And panic attacks, anxiety disorders?
In our context, now is when there are more, in the autumn. There are physical components. People who have special collagen, which is more elastic, have more panic attacks. They are smarter, they get to hold important positions, but they suffer more crises of anxiety (fear of something in the future).
