Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jkksz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T16:22:45.319Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Is there a role for “climatotherapy” in the sustainable development of mental health?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 August 2013

Martin Desseilles
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Namur Medical School, B-5000 Namur, Belgium. Martin.desseilles@unamur.beCatherine.Duclos@unamur.beValérie.Flohimont@unamur.be Alexian Brother Psychiatry Clinic, B-4841 Henri-Chapelle, Belgium. Namur Group of Research in Sustainable Development (NaGRIDD), University of Namur, B-5000 Namur, Belgium. François.desseilles@unamur.behttp://www.unamur.be/
Catherine Duclos
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Namur Medical School, B-5000 Namur, Belgium. Martin.desseilles@unamur.beCatherine.Duclos@unamur.beValérie.Flohimont@unamur.be
Valérie Flohimont
Affiliation:
Namur Group of Research in Sustainable Development (NaGRIDD), University of Namur, B-5000 Namur, Belgium. François.desseilles@unamur.behttp://www.unamur.be/
François Desseilles
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Namur Medical School, B-5000 Namur, Belgium. Martin.desseilles@unamur.beCatherine.Duclos@unamur.beValérie.Flohimont@unamur.be

Abstract

Climate, diet, lifestyle, and environmental settings have all been shown to modulate mood, play a role in mental disorders, and even pose a mental health risk. Can climatotherapy, in its adaptive approach aiming to restore balance among the economic, social, and ecological realms of human societies, situate itself as a therapeutic avenue for the promotion of sustainable mental health?

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adler-Cohen, C., Czarnowicki, T., Dreiher, J., Ruzicka, T., Ingber, A. & Harari, M. (2012) Climatotherapy at the Dead Sea: An effective treatment modality for atopic dermatitis with significant positive impact on quality of life. Dermatitis: Contact, Atopic, Occupational, Drug: Official Journal of the American Contact Dermatitis Society, North American Contact Dermatitis Group 23(2):7580. DOI: 10.1097/DER.0b013e31824a6141.Google Scholar
Aldy, J. E. & Stavins, R. N. (2012) Climate change. Climate negotiators create an opportunity for scholars. Science 337(6098):1043–44. DOI: 10.1126/science.1223836.Google Scholar
Armstrong, L. E., Ganio, M. S., Casa, D. J., Lee, E. C., McDermott, B. P. & Klau, J. F. (2012) Mild dehydration affects mood in healthy young women. The Journal of Nutrition 142(2):382–88. DOI: 10.3945/jn.111.142000.Google Scholar
Berry, H. (2009) Pearl in the oyster: Climate change as a mental health opportunity. Australasian Psychiatry: Bulletin of Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists 17(6):453–56. DOI: 10.1080/10398560903045328.Google Scholar
Christensen, E. M., Larsen, J. K., Gjerris, A., Peacock, L., Jacobi, M. & Hassenbalch, E. (2008) Climatic factors and bipolar affective disorder. Nordic Journal of Psychiatry 62(1):5558. DOI: 10.1080/08039480801970049.Google Scholar
Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (1970) Recommendation 612, on a draft outline law for the active protection of immovable property in Europe (see Doc. 2819, report of the Committee on Culture and Education). Text adopted by the Assembly on 23 September 1970 (16th Sitting). Available at: http://assembly.coe.int/Main.asp?link=/Documents/AdoptedText/ta70/EREC612.htm.Google Scholar
Czarnowicki, T., Harari, M., Ruzicka, T. & Ingber, A. (2011) Dead Sea climatotherapy for vitiligo: A retrospective study of 436 patients. Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology: JEADV 25(8):959–63. DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-3083.2010.03903.x.Google Scholar
de Aquino Lemos, V., Antunes, H. K., dos Santos, R. V., Lira, F. S., Tufik, S. & de Mello, M. T. (2012) High altitude exposure impairs sleep patterns, mood, and cognitive functions. Psychophysiology 49(9):1298–306. DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-8986.2012.01411.x.Google Scholar
Desseilles, F., Mikolajczak, G. & Desseilles, M. (2013) Suicide and food: A biopsychosocial approach. Sante Mentale au Quebec XXXVII 2:6594.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Young, R. (1999) Environmental psychology. In: Encyclopedia of environmental science, ed. Alexander, D. E. & Fairbridge, R. W., pp. 223–24. Kluwer Academic.Google Scholar
Golden, R. N., Gaynes, B. N., Ekstrom, R. D., Hamer, R. M., Jacobsen, F. M. & Suppes, T. (2005) The efficacy of light therapy in the treatment of mood disorders: A review and meta-analysis of the evidence. The American Journal of Psychiatry 162(4):656–62. DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.162.4.656.Google Scholar
Harari, M., Dramsdahl, E., Shany, S., Baumfeld, Y., Ingber, A. & Novack, V. (2011) Increased vitamin D serum levels correlate with clinical improvement of rheumatic diseases after Dead Sea climatotherapy. The Israel Medical Association Journal: IMAJ 13(4):212–15.Google Scholar
Krabbendam, L. & van Os, J. (2005) Schizophrenia and urbanicity: A major environmental influence – Conditional on genetic risk. Schizophrenia Bulletin 31(4):795–99. DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbi060.Google Scholar
Lederbogen, F., Kirsch, P., Haddad, L., Streit, F., Tost, H. & Schuch, P. (2011) City living and urban upbringing affect neural social stress processing in humans. Nature 474(7352), 498501. DOI: 10.1038/nature10190.Google Scholar
Mikolajczak, M., & Desseilles, M. (2012) Traité de régulation des émotions. De Boeck.Google Scholar
Mortensen, P. B., Pedersen, C. B., Westergaard, T., Wohlfahrt, J., Ewald, H. & Mors, O. (1999) Effects of family history and place and season of birth on the risk of schizophrenia. The New England Journal of Medicine 340(8):603608. DOI: 10.1056/NEJM199902253400803.Google Scholar
Myers, N. (1994) Eco-refugees: A crisis in the making. People & the Planet/IPPF, UNFPA, IUCN 3(4):69.Google Scholar
Neria, Y. & Shultz, J. M. (2012) Mental health effects of Hurricane Sandy: Characteristics, potential aftermath, and response. JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association 308(24):2571–72. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2012.110700.Google Scholar
Pedersen, C. B. & Mortensen, P. B. (2001) Evidence of a dose-response relationship between urbanicity during upbringing and schizophrenia risk. Archives of General Psychiatry 58(11):1039–46.Google Scholar
Peen, J., Schoevers, R. A., Beekman, A. T. & Dekker, J. (2010) The current status of urban-rural differences in psychiatric disorders. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 121(2):8493. DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.2009.01438.x.Google Scholar
Penckofer, S., Kouba, J., Byrn, M. & Estwing Ferrans, C. (2010) Vitamin D and depression: Where is all the sunshine? Issues in Mental Health Nursing 31(6):385–93. DOI: 10.3109/01612840903437657.Google Scholar
Roessler, K. K. (2012) Healthy architecture! Can environments evoke emotional responses? Global Journal of Health Science 4(4), 8389. DOI: 10.5539/gjhs.v4n4p83.Google Scholar
Rosenthal, M. S. & Vogel, G. W. (1994) The effects of a 3-day increase of ambient temperature on body temperature and REM sleep in an animal model of depression. Sleep 17(4):291–97.Google Scholar
Schrauzer, G. N. & Shrestha, K. P. (1990) Lithium in drinking water and the incidences of crimes, suicides, and arrests related to drug addictions. Biological Trace Element Research 25(2):105–13.Google Scholar
Schuh, A. & Nowak, D. (2011) Evidence-based acute and long-lasting effects of climatotherapy in moderate altitudes and on the seaside [article in German]. Deutsche Medizinische Wochenschrift 136(4):135–39. DOI: 10.1055/s-0031-1272496.Google Scholar
United Nations (1997) Rapport de la Conférence des Nations Unies sur les établissements humains (Habitat II): Istanbul, 3–14 juin, 1996. United Nations.Google Scholar
van Os, J., Pedersen, C. B. & Mortensen, P. B. (2004) Confirmation of synergy between urbanicity and familial liability in the causation of psychosis. The American Journal of Psychiatry 161(12):2312–14. DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.161.12.2312.Google Scholar