MINNEAPOLIS — You're probably already feeling it, that hot sun wearing you down.
If you are, you're not alone.
“We will see an uptick in heat related calls,” Hennepin EMS Battalion Chief Mike Trullinger says.
Trullinger says this heat wave likely caught a lot of people off guard, coming so early in the season.
He says heat like this can cause all kinds of problems, in all kinds of people.
“We are expecting to see a lot of issues with air quality in people who have breathing problems like asthma and COPD,” Trullinger says.
"We also see a lot of calls involving extreme sports people that do marathons this time of year, biking, swimming, running, but we're also seeing an uptick in road construction calls, these road construction workers, they're very susceptible, they're outside."
Dr. Kristi White, a psychologist at Hennepin Healthcare, says high heat also tends to cause a lot of mental health related issues.
"Aggression tends to increase, violence tends to increase, and impulsivity tends to increase during hotter temperatures, and hotter weather,” Dr. White says.
She says doctors don't fully understand why it happens, how heat physically alters our brain’s ability to process information, emotions and stress, but she says the research shows there is a strong connection between them.
“You know, it’s been a rough 15 months for a lot of people and when you combine that with these hotter temperatures, and people not really being able to regulate their emotions in this heat, that can be a toxic combination,” Dr. White says.
She says the heat can also cause people to lose sleep if they don't have air conditioning or can't get comfortable in bed, and that can make the situation even worse.
"Sleep is really important for regulating mood and emotions and stress, and so that might be a factor as well,” Dr. White says.
So, if you feel on edge over the next few days, it might be the heat, and White says taking a few breaths and a drink of water may be enough to cool you down.
"Buying yourself some time instead of being reactive. Taking a step back and thinking how do I want to respond in this situation,” Dr. White says.
Doctors believe these issues, both physically and mentally, only get worse the longer the heat sticks around.
After day one you might be just fine, but after four or five days of this, your body and mind might start wearing down.
That’s why Dr. White says it's really important to take care of yourself both physically and mentally over the next few days so these issues don’t compound and get worse as this heat wave carries on.
