Changing of the seasons can cause mood to change

There is something so exciting about the time when winter turns to spring, when it is finally warm enough to go without wearing a coat, or even seeing flowers for the first time. The changing of fall to winter, however, is not always as fun. You know what I mean, the time when it is so cold that the thought of leaving your warm bed and walking all the way down to west campus, or even the dorm next to yours, is the worst thought in the world. You might think its just you who these things happen to, but science has proven that different seasons bring different moods.

In an article from the Huffington Post, a psychologist from the University of Pittsburgh goes into detail about this recent finding. People commonly crave carbs and become more tired during the winter months. Our bodies also make less of the hormone which is supposed to generate feelings of happiness and wellbeing during the winter. When Scientific American was researching this subject, they found that dopamine levels in people were the highest during the spring and summer. Dopamine is linked to motivation and pleasure. This means that people were the happiest during spring and summer months. The researchers had a feeling this was because people get lazy during the winter and have more energy in the summer. In the winter I have no motivation to do anything and hate being in the cold. The warm weather is not the only benefit of summer, there is also no school and time for the body to relax. Happiness is increased by the things which come along with summer, going to the beach or vacations with family.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/yes-the-cooler-seasons-really-do-affect-your-mood_us_57ee93fde4b024a52d2ea6f7

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/with-the-changing-of-the-seasons/

4 thoughts on “Changing of the seasons can cause mood to change

  1. Tyler Mitchell Azar

    This was a very interesting post that applies to me for sure. I definitely feel less happiness in the winter than during other, warmer seasons. I’ve read that it can also be caused by the lack of light during the cold winter months. Vitamin D is important to our overall health and wellbeing. This article from WebMD goes more in depth about that and other possible reasons for Seasonal Affective Disorder.

  2. Adelaide Christine Edgett

    I experience this phenomenon literally every year. Your energy level just plummets during the winter, I think it’s because of the less time you can spend outside. We all know that at Penn State, in the winters you don’t want to spend any more time than possible in the frigid Siberia that the outside world turns into. Winter can be fun for a month, but the constantly drab setting gets to you eventually.

  3. Taryn S Linker

    This article was really interesting as I too can relate to what the writer experiences throughout the different seasons. I too become extremely lazy and tired (due to a lack of energy) during the winter, which contributes to me wanting to stay in bed and not go to a class that is only a five minute walk away. In the summer, I find that I am happier and more willing to do activity and work. Therefore, I believe this article is right in the sense that as the seasons change our mood changes as well. Here is an article that I found talking about the change in mood affected by the different seasons:

    https://medlineplus.gov/magazine/issues/fall09/articles/fall09pg27-28.html

  4. Beom Joon Lee

    Very interesting to read as I also feel that I am more happier and have more energy in the summer. As I looked into your topic, there actually seems to be a disorder known as Seasonal affective disorder or short for SAD. As you have said in your post, people tend to lose energy and become moody as fall and winter approaches. There is also a treatment for people who have severe SAD. The treatment is known as phototherapy. http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/seasonal-affective-disorder/basics/definition/con-20021047. This website gave me some insight into SAD and some treatments.

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