How our body reacts to thunder and lightning — and why

As thunderstorm warnings are extended for some counties, here are some of the ways you may be feeling the effects

The change in pressure during thunderstorms can impact our bodies in different ways.

With temperatures topping 30 degrees in recent days as Ireland experienced an unusually warm heatwave, it was only a matter of time before lighting would strike.

A status orange thunderstorm warning was in place across the country until Monday morning but has been extended until 10pm for Munster as well as counties Dublin, Wexford, Carlow, Kilkenny, Laois, Offaly, Kildare and Wicklow.

With such conditions comes plenty of lightning and power outages but did you know that thunderstorms can also have an impact on our bodies?

Headaches 

If you are someone who is prone to getting headaches, the weather conditions during a thunderstorm may bring one on. Between the humidity, grey skies and high temperatures, thunderstorms can often trigger this pain as a result of a drop in barometric pressure.

Barometric or atmospheric pressure is a measurement of the air pressure within the atmosphere.

This pressure change that comes with a storm is thought to cause electrical and chemical changes in the brain which leads to a headache or even a migraine for some.

A study completed in Japan in 2011 found that those who are prone to getting migraines were more likely to get one on days when the barometric pressure dropped by 5 hectopascals (the international unit for measuring atmospheric or barometric pressure.) 

Arthritis pain 

While many with arthritis believe they can predict rain due to their aches, some believe there may also be a link between storms and arthritis pain.

Some researchers have deemed those to be more of a psychological phenomenon, but others believe that there may be a connection between the drop in barometric pressures during a storm and the pain.

“Some scientists blame the increased pain on a drop in barometric pressure, which often precedes a storm,” says health writer Linda Wasmer Andrews. “As pressure around a joint drops, tissues expand slightly. If there’s already swelling in the joint due to arthritis, people may feel this change more acutely.” 

Some people with asthma believe that their symptoms worsen during storms.

Asthma

During a thunderstorm, many people with asthma believe that their symptoms worsen.

According to Harvard Health Publishing, there have been reports of thunderstorm-related asthma back as far as 1985 when there was an increase in asthma patients in Birmingham following a summer thunderstorm.

Those who might be impacted by this usually also have hay fever and ‘thunderstorm asthma’ may be a result of the reaction to pollen or fungal spores.

There are theories to suggest that high pollen and spore counts occur during thunderstorms. Some believe that a higher pollen count comes as a result of gusts of wind and warm humid air during a storm while there is also the possibility of the electrical activity breaking up pollen into smaller pieces.

Sleep apnea 

Those who suffer from sleep apnea experience their breathing stop and start repeatedly as they sleep. However, when the barometric or atmospheric pressure is lower, as is the case during most storms, including a thunderstorm, these instances can increase.

A study at the University of Washington Medicine Sleep Institute in Seattle found that sleep apnea patients saw more instances of when their breathing was interrupted when the pressure was lower.