With Summer well underway, this blog focuses on insights into the bio-psychological effects of heat and simple habits for staying cool and energised in the summer months.

Psychology Insights

Cognitive function

When your body is working overtime to cool itself down, less energy is available for higher-level brain processes. Research shows that hot weather can:

Slow down response times

Impact perception and executive functioning

Reduce working memory and attention

Make it harder to stay focused or make decisions

Mood and emotions

Heat can also throw off your emotional balance and your mental state. This can result in reduced positive emotions such as happiness and joy and increase negative emotions like stress, and anger.

If you’ve noticed shorter patience or quicker frustration with family or work, it may not be "just stress", the weather could be amplifying your emotional load.

General wellbeing

The hot weather in summer can also result in sleep disturbances, fatigue and feelings of exhaustion.

Self-regulation capacity

In the warm weather, it takes more mental effort to eat well, exercise, or stay calm. That’s why summer isn’t just a physical challenge, it’s a psychological one too. Being aware of these changes can help you adapt your expectations and build in supportive strategies like:

Hydration
Having cooling rituals
Setting realistic goals and expectations.

Research of the season: The role of spicy food in helping feel cooler

The Science

Red hot chilli has shown to significantly reduce body temperature. In one study, participants were grouped into receiving a meal with chilli and another without. The researchers found a decrease in temperature, and the mean difference was -0.36 (95% CI: -0.53, -0.18, p<0.05) between the 2 groups. The fact that chilli helps combat discomfort caused by a hot climate explains why people in hotter countries enjoy eating spicier meals.

What this means for you

Make yourself and your family a spicy curry or sabzi using red chilli powder!

Although eating a spicy curry might be the last thing you want to do when it is hot outside, as you are likely to feel hotter whilst consuming the meal. However, adding extra chilli might help you feel cooler by reducing your body temperature afterwards

Health and wellbeing Tips for the Summer

Get your vitamin D

Many South Asians have low levels of Vitamin D due to our melanin-rich skin, and it doesn’t help that we’re often told to avoid tanning by not going out in the sun as. However, a lack of vitamin D is linked to weaker bones and other diseases.

Research suggests that South Asian individuals in the UK need 25 minutes of daily sunlight at lunchtime, from March to September in the morning or late afternoon sun. Try to expose forearms and legs to soak in more vitamin D.

Staying hydrated

Even mild dehydration can affect your concentration, psychomotor skills and memory. Don’t rely on thirst as your cue to drink and aim for regular sips. Chaas or nimbu pani are great to sip on in the summer months.

Protect Your Sleep

Summer heat can disrupt your circadian rhythm, which can make it harder to fall asleep or stay asleep. Try to create a cool sleep-friendly environment by using cotton bedding, keeping curtains closed during the day, and cooling your feet before bed (e.g., foot soak). Calming rituals like a prayer, gentle music, or chamomile tea can also help.

Get your walking early, or late

Walking is great for metabolic and mental health, but avoid the midday sun unless you want to feel fatigued. It’s best to head out early in the morning or after dinner for a walk. You might want to make it a social walk with a family member, or listen to a podcast.

References

Chatsantiprapa, K., Hurst, C., Thepsuthammarat, K., Thapunkaw, N., & Khrisanapant, W. (2014). Acute effects of hot red chili on autonomic and metabolic functions in healthy subjects. Thai Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 38(4).
Webb, A. R., Kazantzidis, A., Kift, R. C., Farrar, M. D., Wilkinson, J., & Rhodes, L. E. (2018). Colour Counts: Sunlight and Skin Type as Drivers of Vitamin D Deficiency at UK Latitudes. Nutrients, 10(4), 457. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10040457
Adan A. (2012). Cognitive performance and dehydration. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 31(2), 71–78. https://doi.org/10.1080/07315724.2012.10720011
Okamoto-Mizuno, K., & Mizuno, K. (2012). Effects of thermal environment on sleep and circadian rhythm. Journal of physiological anthropology, 31, 1-9.
Malcolm, R. A., Cooper, S., Folland, J. P., Tyler, C. J., & Sunderland, C. (2018). Passive Heat Exposure Alters Perception and Executive Function. Frontiers in physiology, 9, 585. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2018.00585
Noelke, C., McGovern, M., Corsi, D. J., Jimenez, M. P., Stern, A., Wing, I. S., & Berkman, L. (2016). Increasing ambient temperature reduces emotional well-being. Environmental research, 151, 124–129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2016.06.045
Cedeño Laurent, J. G., Williams, A., Oulhote, Y., Zanobetti, A., Allen, J. G., & Spengler, J. D. (2018). Reduced cognitive function during a heat wave among residents of non-air-conditioned buildings: An observational study of young adults in the summer of 2016. PLoS medicine, 15(7), e1002605. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002605

Summer of Self-Care and Healthy Habits