Extreme Temperatures Fueling Teen Depression

This past decade has brought an unmistakable trend: Each year, global temperatures climb higher than the last. This year looks to continue that pattern, as winter temperatures across the western United States climbed to historic levels. 

Nine states, including Colorado, experienced their hottest winter (December-February) on record, while five others recorded their second-warmest winter ever. This week, the U.S. is set to experience historic heat, breaking all-time early-season records. Extreme temperatures can worsen our physical health, but what about the effect on our mental health? 

Erika Manczak, associate professor of psychology in the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, is studying exactly that—looking for connections between extreme temperatures and mental health outcomes, especially for children. 

“I’ve been trying to understand how some of those physical exposures might play out for children’s mental health—both by activating biological processes that can put kids at risk, particularly, for depression, but also thinking of other pathways that might lead to risk,” Manczak says.

Research has long suggested that temperature can affect mental health. Heat waves, for example, have been associated with increases in aggressive behavior. That’s because extreme temperatures can stress the body, triggering biological changes such as systemic inflammation. Can this cause depressive symptoms, too? That’s what Manczak is trying to find out. 

“If we know that heat is likely increasing inflammation, it follows that it might also be leading to increases in depressive symptoms,” she says. 

Between 2020 and 2025, Manczak and a team of researchers studied 120 teenagers in the Denver metro area, observing each for six months. They collected data every three months, spanning two seasons. Trained clinician researchers assessed for depression symptoms and took blood samples to measure inflammation. They used historical temperature data from participants' addresses to compare current temperatures to the typical range over the last five years, then counted the number of unusually hot or cold days in the month before depressive symptoms appeared.

“We’re using that information to see whether the number of days experiencing extreme temperatures predict the number of days experiencing depressive symptoms the following month,” Manczak says. 

Adolescence, in particular, is a period in which risk for depression increases significantly. There’s even some research that estimates 35% of teens meet the criteria for depression, Manczak says. It’s not only that they’re more vulnerable to depression; they also spend more time outside and have less control over when they can go inside or access air conditioning. 

“We’ve looked at very important things including exposure to stress, relationships, and biological processes. I think by also considering environmental exposures, we might be able to intervene,” Manczak says.

This is where environmental context becomes critical. As global temperatures continue to warm due to climate change, Manczak says now is a critical time to understand the link between extreme temperatures and depressive symptoms. 

“My hope is to motivate policy change to reduce the things that are contributing to extreme heat,” Manczak says. “I think there will be really strong data. I think we need that now.”