On a rainy day have you ever just wanted to stay in bed all day and watch Netflix? Most of us have and rainy days cause us to want to do nothing at all, and even put some of us in a bad mood. On the other hand, days when it is really nice out put us in a great mood. I decided to look into this and see if there was any science behind it.
In 2008, a study was done and it was found that warmer temperatures can bring a depressed person’s mood up. This study showed that the daily weather impacts a person’s negative mood more than it impacts a person’s positive mood. Therefore, when the weather is nice, it brings a person’s mood who is depressed up, but when it is rainy or windy, it puts a person who is depressed in an even worse mood. There is a type of depression called Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), where the person’s mood and level of depression are determined by the season and the weather of that season.
A study done in 2013 showed that there is a link between human aggression and temperature. This makes complete sense because I feel like when it is really hot out, people become aggravated so much quicker and their temperaments are a lot shorter. Not only do people get more aggressive in higher temperatures, but also when there is snow or rain. One’s favorite season can also determine what kind of personality they have. All of these weather related mood swings are determined by hormones in the brain and the psychology of the brain. Certain hormones cause your moods and when the weather comes into play, it affects these hormones. Another way your mood can change based on the seasons is allergies. When people have allergies, they become more tense and are more easily aggravated. The spring is a big time for allergies, and even though the weather is beautiful, people are so uncomfortable because of their allergies that they are put in a bad mood. I personally have allergies and I understand this because I am get annoyed when I am constantly sneezing. Further studies have also shown that bad weather directly affects your mood more than good weather does. Bad weather is much more likely to put us in a bad mood than good weather is to put us in a good mood.
http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2014/08/29/can-weather-affect-your-mood/
http://www.infoplease.com/science/weather/moods.html
Megan, that’s so interesting and I never thought about a treatment like that before. I think it is so cool how such a small alteration can change someone’s condition so drastically. There are so many prescriptions that can be used to treat every type of disease or condition, but sometimes the simplest treatments work best. I feel the body sometimes responds better to natural treatments, such as the light therapy your friend’s mom used.
I had never really heard of seasonal depression until I found out that my friend’s mom has it. It makes so much sense to me now, knowing that she has it because she tends to trap herself inside during winter. I recently found out that her husband built a window in one of the closed off rooms so that more light would be emitted during the winter to help with her depression. According to Medicine Net, http://www.medicinenet.com/seasonal_affective_disorder_sad/page2.htm, this can be treated with different prescriptions like other forms of depression, but is also treated with different light treatments. It’s really amazing how light therapy can help treat this form of depression.
I had never really heard of seasonal depression until I found out that my friend’s mom has it. It makes so much sense to me now, knowing that she has it because she tends to trap herself inside during winter. I recently found out that her husband built a window in one of the closed off rooms so that more light would be emitted during the winter to help with her depression. According to MayoClinic, http://www.medicinenet.com/seasonal_affective_disorder_sad/page2.htm, this can be treated with different prescriptions like other forms of depression, but is also treated with different light treatments. It’s really amazing how light therapy can help treat this form of depression.
I found your post really interesting so I did some research and I found that during spring and summer the suicide rates increase. It seems that during spring and summer, researchers observed an increase in suicides and a decrease of suicide rates during autumn and winter months. They also found that outdoor workers are more likely to commit suicide in the spring months than during the winter months. However, the suicide rates for indoor workers peaks in the summertime.
http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2014/08/29/can-weather-affect-your-mood/