1. Prioritize Your Sleep:
sleep plays an important role in memory, emotional regulation, attention, and adolescent brain development. Extreme heat can make restful sleep more difficult.
Try this: Keep your bedroom as cool as safely possible, maintain a consistent sleep schedule, and use a cooler sleeping space when available. Follow local heat-safety advice during extreme temperatures.

2. Check the Air Quality Before Going Outside:

Wildfire smoke contains fine particles that can affect respiratory and cardiovascular health. Reducing exposure is particularly important during smoke events.

Try this: Check your local Air Quality Health Index (AQHI), adjust strenuous outdoor activities when air quality is poor, and spend time in a cleaner indoor environment when possible.

3. Recognize When Stress Is Affecting You:

Climate-related events can contribute to worry, frustration, fatigue, or feelings of uncertainty. Recognizing these experiences can help you respond before stress becomes overwhelming.

Try this: Pause and identify what you are feeling. Take a few slow breaths, write down your concerns, or talk with someone you trust. If distress persists or interferes with daily life, consider seeking support from a counsellor or healthcare professional.

4. Communicate Openly in Your Relationships:

Stress and poor sleep can influence mood and patience, potentially making everyday disagreements harder to navigate. This does not mean climate stress determines how a relationship will go.

Try this: Explain how you feel without blaming the other person. For example, say, “I've been feeling overwhelmed today, and I need a little time to recharge,” rather than assuming the other person understands what you are experiencing.

5.  Avoid Making Assumptions About Attraction or Emotions:

Feeling tired, uncomfortable, or stressed can influence how you experience social situations. However, there is no strong evidence that heat or wildfire smoke directly determines whom you find attractive.

Try this: Give yourself time to understand your feelings. Avoid interpreting one difficult day, a change in mood, or an uncomfortable interaction as proof that your feelings toward someone have changed.

6.  Stay Hydrated and Recognize Heat Stress: 

Extreme heat can place additional demands on the body and interfere with concentration and comfort.

Try this: Drink water regularly, take breaks in cooler spaces, wear appropriate lightweight clothing, and reduce strenuous activity during very hot conditions. Follow public health guidance and seek medical assistance if you develop concerning symptoms of heat-related illness.

7.  Build a Supportive Social Circle:

Supportive relationships can help people cope with stress and navigate difficult circumstances. Connection and belonging are particularly important during adolescence.

Try this: Check in with friends, spend time with trusted people, and let others know when you need support. Remember that being a good friend also includes respecting boundaries and allowing others time to rest.

8. Create a Climate-Ready Routine:

Planning ahead can reduce uncertainty and help you make safer decisions when heatwaves or wildfire smoke occur.

Try this: Keep an eye on weather and air-quality alerts, identify accessible cooling and cleaner-air spaces, and make a backup plan for outdoor activities. If you cannot access a cool or clean-air environment at home, explore available community resources.
 

9. Set Healthy Boundaries With Climate News and Social Media:

Constant exposure to alarming climate-related news can feel overwhelming, particularly when it interferes with rest or daily activities.

Try this: Choose specific times to check reliable news sources, take breaks from distressing content, and focus on practical actions within your control. Staying informed is valuable, but you do not need to monitor every update.

10. Advocate for Healthier, More Equitable Communities:

Protecting brain health is not solely an individual responsibility. Everyone deserves access to safe housing, clean air, cool spaces, and supportive environments.

Try this: Encourage your school to provide shaded outdoor areas, accessible water stations, heat-safety plans, and cleaner indoor spaces during wildfire smoke events. Support community initiatives that improve access to green spaces and climate-health resources.