A broad range of brain conditions, from migraines to strokes, are made worse by extreme heat, new research shows.
The most direct impact of high temperatures is that they can mess with the brain’s wiring. But extreme heat creates a variety of other problems, too, for those diagnosed with epilepsy, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other diseases, according to a May study from 24 researchers published in The Lancet Neurology journal.
The human brain does best when outside temperatures are between 68 to 79 degrees Fahrenheit, said Sanjay Sisodiya, the lead author of the study and a neurologist at University College London. It’s where “we feel thermally comfortable without having to do additional things.”
But if the “temperature’s taken out of that range,” he added, then the way the body’s components interact “can be disrupted.”
