Picture in your head the worst day ever. Now times that by twenty, and a rainy Sunday is still worse then that. I hate nothing more then to know that my week filled with responsibilities starts all over again and when the weather is yucky, it’s an even worse feeling. Why is that? How come a beautiful Sunday with the sun shining is much better then a gloomy Sunday filled with rain. Although we all don’t consciously notice it, the weather and seasons affect our mood in a big way. It’s not just a coincidence that you are sad on a rainy day and happy on a nice day, it all relates back to science.

Your body can react to weather in multiple ways, depending on the person and their personality. According to science, when the temperature is hotter, it can bring someone that is depressed, out of depression for a while. Although it doesn’t curediseases, the weather can strongly influence the way that we behave and interact with others. Again, the weather effects people on a person to person basis, so for example a depressed person is lifted up by the heat, but the heat can “bring out the worst” in a normal person. The way a person reacts just depends on the way our bodies react towards extreme conditions and you can read all about it in this article by John M. Grohol.

Some may say that the weather can’t affect your mood unless you let it. According to this study, men were able to not let the weather affect their mood
much easier then women. They simply ignored the weather and changed their plans around it. So women are less susceptible to changing their plans, which results in their mood being affected. Again, it all depends on the person, their environment, and how they react to certain situations. For example, “if it’s hot and sunny for months on end, that’s probably going to make more of an impact in Seattle (a usually rainy and cool place to live) than in Miami (a usually hot and sunny place to live).”

I can completely attest to this theory, especially being in windy and cold State College, PA. When I was here for summer session, I had a totally different outlook on school and now that the weather is getting colder, I am loosing motivation. On the rare sunny but breezy day, it boosts my spirits for the week. But sometimes
, State College weather can be drab for days on end. I am one of the people that wishes it could be summer all year round because I am in a better mood when Im not trudging through snow. Here, you can find multiple reasons why most people like warm weather. I think the reason why I love it the most is because the days feel longer then they do in the winter. Because of daylight savings, there is more light throughout the day therefore making the day “feel longer”.

Another interesting instance where this theory can be proved is the fact that sunnier states are happier states. Seriously just think about it, Florida and California are filled with mostly happy people and it’s most likely due to their perfect weather that they have year round. Although the affects of the weather vary depending on the situation, I think the consensus is that no matter what type of person you are, you can’t stop the way you feel when you walk outside everyday.

http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2014/08/29/can-weather-affect-your-mood/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/22/warm-weather-mood_n_7056636.html

http://elitedaily.com/life/culture/temperature-tantrums-weather-actually-affect-mood/964987/

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/depression/index.shtml