I come from Seattle which rains a lot, and recently it is so hot in Penn State and I don’t feel quite comfortable, although i think a lot of people really enjoy sunny days. This make me think whether does weather really influence people’s emotions?
According to my research, A 2008 study conducted by Jaap Denissen showed that weather fluctuations accounted for very little variance in people’s day-to-day mood. This is a very surprising result because most of people have stereotypes in our mind that we will be depressed in cold and get excited in summer.
However, scientists do found some relations between the weather and mood. “The amount of sunlight people are exposed to can have a large impact on mood because it affects the amount of vitamin D people absorb.” Just as what is shown in the picture below. As a result, as the day gets shorter, people may feel more tiredness during the day. For instance, it’s difficult to get up in the morning.
And from other researches, similar points have been empahsized that
Heat (and extreme rain) brings out the worst in people.
Suicides peak during the spring & summer.
Seasonal affective disorder is real.
Higher temperatures can bring a depressed person up.
On the other hand, I myself feel exhausted in sunny days so the article also says that every individual may have different weather types so that we react differently to different weathers. Some are summer lovers, some are summer haters, some are rain lovers, and others are rain haters. It all depends, and weather doesn’t have to control our mood.
And here is an article which illustrates the several components that may affect human emotions: sunlight, temperature, sleep, and light.
In discussing weather as it pertains to mood, I think it is necessary to take a closer look at the last link you provided. This link discusses Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD. Although many people don’t take SAD seriously, it is a real disorder that proves that weather can affect your mood. SAD is a disorder that typically occurs during the short days of the winter months. During these months, we do not get as much exposure to the sun and light. As a result, Melatonin levels, the neurotransmitter in our brain that controls our sleep cycle, drop. When Melatonin levels drop, we can become fatigued easily or even experience mild depressive episodes. Evidenced by SAD, there is a direct causation between the amount of sunlight (weather) and our overall mood.