Ever start to feel angry, anxious, irritable or cranky when the weather gets hot? I know personally if I’m in a hot room, I can’t focus and get extremely agitated. Is there a reason we start to feel this way?
The reason we feel so short-tempered in hot weather is because it increases our physical arousal. We can experience an increased heart rate and a rise in blood pressure. However, the main reason we begin to feel cranky is because we are dehydrated so it is important to drink plenty of fluids. A study done in 2012 found that after loosing just 1.5 percent of the body’s normal water volume subjects experienced trouble concentrating, were fatigued and distressed. When the hot weather dehydrates us the plasma osmolarity, which measures hydration status in the hypothalamus suffers and therefore prevents the hypothalamus from maintaining homeostasis in the human body. In a study done on cats where they were able to measure the blood volume, hydration status and the evaporative heat loss in response to the heating of the hypothalamus researchers found that the dehydration decreased thermal response of the central neural structures.
There are many other factors that link increased anger to the heat however, the bottom line is the hot weather does make us hot heads. Ellen Cohn a criminologist at Florida International University also stated in an NBC article, “‘Generally, what we find is as it gets hotter, crime tends to go up.’” The rise in crime rates results from the heat increasing our aggressive behavior. Similarly, Brad Bushman an Ohio State University psychologist also said in the article that, “‘If someone cuts you off in traffic, you’re much more likely to honk at them or flip them off if it’s a hot day rather than a cool day.’” The hot weather can definitely make us act out of character so it’s important to stay hydrated and in the air conditioning.
Works Cited
Dahl, Melissa. “Heat Waves Lead to Hot Tempers — and Here’s Why.” Today Health. N.p., 4 July 2013. Web. 1 Dec. 2014. <http://www.today.com/health/heat-waves-lead-hot-tempers-heres-why-6C10436073>.
“Definition of Plasma Osmolarity.” MedicineNet.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Dec. 2014. <http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=33419>.
“Effect of Dehydration on Hypothalamic Control of Evaporation in the Cat.” PMC. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Dec. 2014. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1249682/>.
“Hypothalamus.” You and Your Hormones. N.p., 24 Oct. 2013. Web. 1 Dec. 2014. <http://www.yourhormones.info/glands/hypothalamus.aspx>.
“Mild dehydration affects mood in healthy young women.” PubMed. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Dec. 2014. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22190027>.
Weather definitely has a huge effect on how people feel. While the humidity often makes people cranky, most often the sun has a tendency to make people happy. In contrast, the winter tends to make people feel more depressed.
I found this post very interesting and it’s something I’ve never heard of before. I think that although there’s a correlation between heat and a bad temper, there’s no actual evidence that there’s any causation. Also, there could be many other variables that come into play. For example, maybe crime rates go up when it’s hot out because people don’t have motivation to leave their warm houses when it’s cold. Also, when it’s hot kids are out of school for summer break and their boredom might lead them to do things they shouldn’t, like commit crimes.
I have noticed that when I am too hot or too cold I get a little grumpy. I have observed this in other people as well. I can see how the heat makes people especially angry- it is uncomfortable and can add stress to situations because all you want to do is find a cool place to be. When your hot and stressed, it makes you more hot which then stresses you out more. People get irritated and snappy when they get hot and I think a large part of it is because of dehydration and failure to cope with temperature. Here is an article that explains it well: http://www.livescience.com/21431-hot-temperatures-mood.html
This is a very interesting blog post. As crazy as it sounds, I used to work at a day camp over the summer and without a doubt my girls were more irritable on the hottest days. I used to always think that the sun exposure was making them tired and cranky like what is highlighted in this article: http://www.united-academics.org/magazine/health-medicine/beach-makes-you-tired/ But I guess there was more to it. I really enjoy when this class is able to work its way into real life situations that I have faced.
I love that you wrote about this because I noticed that when it is hotter I am a person that gets more cranky and irritated, even though I didn’t know the actual reason why. Your explanation and links to your articles were very informative and really made me think about why this happens to us. Homeostasis is very important and this goes to show just how sensitive and hard working the body can be!
I thought this was a very interesting blog topic. I personally hate really hot weather because I get grouchy and stressed out. Now I see why! It is interesting to see how hot weather makes us stress out and turns us into “hot heads.” On that note, it would be interesting to also see how the cold weather effects our mood! Also, I have heard that hot weather also can increase depression. Here is an article that talks about that. http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2014/08/29/can-weather-affect-your-mood/
I think this article explains a lot on how weather actually does affect our behavior. It doesn’t sound too realistic at first but after reading this post it makes sense. I know I can relate to this because when it’s extremely hot out I get irritable real easily and when its raining out all I want to do is sleep. This article also explains how weather can affect mood.
http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2014/08/29/can-weather-affect-your-mood/
This is a very interesting topic. I am actually a person who hates the hot weather because it puts me in a bad mood. I always thought it was just because i would start sweating and become uncomfortable but I like your explanation and it makes perfect sense. The heat to me has always been a stressor that is hard to control. Being cold can be controlled much easier than being hot.