On a typical day I tend to think of myself as a very outgoing, extroverted, and ultimately happy individual with a pep in my step. To some, this can be seen as an annoyance, especially those who find themselves to be more introverted by nature. However, I have a hypothesis for why this may be – perhaps it is due in part to the time of year we were born, as opposed to anything else. Personally, I was born in the middle of summer, and it would not surprise me if my birth month actually has an effect on health and personality overall.

One key thing to keep in mind is the well-proven belief in the Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, which is a disorder that occurs around the fall and winter months in four-seasoned environments that ultimately leave sufferers having symptoms of low energy, issues sleeping, and even forms of depression, according to the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. This is disorder can also be treated, primarily through the use of drugs or light therapy, to make sure the patient is getting the correct amount of exposure to natural light.

Nicholas Cage as a Natural Source of Sunlight. Source: http://nicolascage.us/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Teletubbies-Sun.jpg.

So already there is the evidence of SAD to back up my claim from a present time perspective how different times of year effect us… but what about the actual time of year our birth takes place? According to some scientists at Colombia University, there may be more of a link to health conditions and months as opposed to just differences in personality. Through the use of data and meta-analysis, they found that there are specific months that can be attributed to an increased risk in obtaining specific types of diseases, such as cardiovascular, respiratory, and more. However, they also claim that there is actually a number of variables that take part in these determinations, so we should not be overly worried by their findings and trying to line up birth months to prevent any type of specific disease.

Even though it is hardly something to change your everyday life over, the results that may be found over the next few years should be kept in mind as we age further into the century. Perhaps more of a correlation will be found between months and diseases or health overall that could be key in preventing further loss of life.

But what about personality? There is of course the inference of the zodiac calendar and horoscopes from astrology – but this is science, not star gazing and palm reading! Plus, astrology has been debunked by a number of studies, such as the one performed by scientists at the Psychology Department at Indiana University. In the study, it was found that astrologers did no better than any non-astrologer at predicting personalities based off the participants birth months alone.

Take that Celestial Sky Beings! Source: http://www.astrologer.com/pics/zod/Zodiac300x300.jpg.

Although the argument can be made and tailored that the health and personality of an individual correlates with the time of year they are born, I would say this kind of argument is currently weak and back by little, if any, supporting evidence. Thus, I deem my hypothesis to be a null hypothesis as a result of the lack of results that turned up during my findings. While disorders such as SAD exist, this tends to be lent in part to some type of third variable, such as not getting enough natural sunlight, and has nothing to do with the actual month of birth. And astrology, while granted being around for thousands of years, is from a scientific standpoint absolute malarkey. I can say that the month of February means that someone is much more compassionate, caring, and honest, and there will be hundreds of thousands of human beings born in that month who fit that personality type. There is always chance to consider when it comes to these topics, and maybe I am completely wrong, but for now I will stick to what the evidence is claiming, and that is everyone has control over their own emotions and health, not just dates on a calendar.

Hope you enjoyed the post! Have any comments or questions? Do you disagree with anything I said above? Feel free to leave a reply!