{"id":576436,"date":"2026-07-09T06:51:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T06:51:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/576436\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T06:51:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T06:51:14","slug":"how-arizonas-summer-heat-can-impact-your-mental-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/576436\/","title":{"rendered":"How Arizona’s summer heat can impact your mental health"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Arizona's \"Arizona's Arizona’s summer heat could impact mental health<\/a> <\/p>\n

Extreme summer heat is causing seasonal depression as Arizona residents are forced indoors. FOX 10’s Taylor Wirtz spoke with an expert, and has more on how the ways summer can take a toll on people’s mental health.<\/p>\n

PHOENIX<\/strong> – Seasonal depression is an issue people might not think most of Arizona is prone to, but experts say a hot Phoenix summer can have a big effect on mental health.<\/p>\n

“I go to school in Boston right now,” said Chase Conlon. “I truly had seasonal depression this year.”<\/p>\n

Big picture view:<\/p>\n

In a state like Arizona where sunshine and heat are in abundance, especially in the summer, residents like Barbara Davis of Chandler are noting the shift in daily habits.<\/p>\n

“We go from the air-conditioned house to the air-conditioned car to the next air-conditioned building that you\u2019re going to,” Davis said.<\/p>\n

Dr. TeeJay Tripp of Serenity Mental Health Centers says mental health can still be affected when people are forced to be inside more.<\/p>\n

“So our brain actually grows as we see different things. So if you’re just stuck inside those same four walls, it doesn’t help our neuroplasticity,” Dr. Tripp said.<\/p>\n

Dig deeper:<\/p>\n

Dr. Tripp says studies cite social interaction as a key factor in one\u2019s happiness.<\/p>\n

“If you’re essentially removing that from people because they want to avoid the heat or not go out, you know, it is going to have a toll on people’s mental health,” Dr. Tripp said.<\/p>\n

Though living in the Phoenix area, Tripp says he sees many patients with low Vitamin D.<\/p>\n

“The sun itself, you know, helps with Vitamin D, and just seeing nature and a variety of environments has shown to be helpful for us,” Dr. Tripp said.<\/p>\n

Local perspective:<\/p>\n

One population bearing the brunt of this issue are seniors who are forced to stay inside for their health.<\/p>\n

“A lot of people in communal living feel isolated year round, but it becomes especially acute in the summer,” Jimmy Rhoades, spokesperson for New Visions Assisted Living, said. “Fully 25% of people polled in community living environments will report a sense of loneliness and isolation.”<\/p>\n

To combat this, staff at New Visions Assisted Living say they make a conscious effort to keep their residents entertained with everything from music programs to art classes.<\/p>\n

“You know, you just need the visitors. You need the community. The antidote to isolation is community,” Rhoades said.<\/p>\n

Experts say that is true for anyone locked inside during any season. Still, those interviewed from colder climates say they will take an Arizona summer over a real winter any day.<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s a lot better than the seasonal depression up north,” Alejandro Apud, who is originally from Canada, said.<\/p>\n

What’s next:<\/p>\n

Dr. Tripp says this should be a good reminder to check on friends and neighbors, especially if they are elderly, and make more efforts to get out of the house.<\/p>\n

New Visions Senior Living is always accepting volunteers to come help keep their residents entertained.<\/p>\n

New Visions Assisted Living<\/strong><\/p>\n

https:\/\/newvisionsalh.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

The Source:<\/b> Information in this report was gathered from Chase Conlon, Barbara Davis, Dr. TeeJay Tripp of Serenity Mental Health Centers, Jimmy Rhoades of New Visions Assisted Living, and Alejandro Apud.<\/p>\n

Weather<\/a>Mental Health<\/a>Phoenix<\/a>News<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Arizona’s summer heat could impact mental health Extreme summer heat is causing seasonal depression as Arizona residents are…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":576437,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[276],"tags":[24874,18,135,19,17,94590,167,502,5,27469,107,443],"class_list":["post-576436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mental-health","tag-az","tag-eire","tag-health","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-maricopa-county","tag-mental-health","tag-mentalhealth","tag-news","tag-phoenix","tag-us","tag-weather"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116888698802576757","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/576436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=576436"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/576436\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/576437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=576436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=576436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=576436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}