Warm Weather = Happy Amie |
Last weekend I returned from the tropics to find myself outside
the San Francisco airport basically barefoot in sub-40 degree weather. As I
stood there shivering in disbelief, the shock to my system made me wonder about
the effect of the weather on my mood and
well-being. Like Kate, I often find
myself a little more blue as winter
progresses and the sun sets early in the day. But in what other ways might the
weather be affecting how we feel from one day to the next? Some of what I found
surprised me. Below I detail three unexpected (at least to me!) ways in which
the weather may be influencing your mood…
Summer can sour your
mood. Just because there is a lot of sunshine in the summer doesn’t mean it
is the time when people are the happiest. In one study, rates of depression and
sadness among the general population of the Netherlands were highest in the summer
and fall. In a separate line of research, although participants’ moods tended
to become more positive as the weather became more pleasant in the springtime, in
the summer, hotter weather was associated with being in a more negative mood.
Heat is also associated with increased aggression. So when you find yourself
feeling sad, grouchy, or wanting to punch someone in the middle of summer, try
taking a weekend trip to somewhere cool.
Humidity plays a
role. In a study conducted in the 1980’s, researchers found that out of
eight weather variables (hours of sunshine, precipitation, temperature, wind
direction, humidity, change in barometric pressure, and absolute barometric
pressure), humidity was the best predictor of mood outcomes. On days when
humidity was high, participants reported being less able to concentrate and
feeling sleepier. Other researchers have also found a link between high
humidity and increased tiredness using controlled experimental methods. In
contrast, participants reported increased pleasantness when in low humidity
conditions. Perhaps these findings explain why I find myself disappointingly
lethargic when I visit tropical locales? On a trip to Hawaii a few years ago, I
packed my running shoes sure I would take long leisurely runs in the morning.
Ten days later I returned home with my running shoes still packed away in the
bottom of my bag and several long leisurely naps under my belt. I thought I was
just being lazy but now I think I’ll blame it on the humidity!
Summer Hater? |
There is no one-stop
shop for weather and mood. Although research suggests too much heat can
sour our moods, this may not be the case for everyone. In 2011, a group of
researchers in the Netherlands identified four distinct categories that
describe ways in which different people react to the weather. There are the
classic “Summer Lovers” who report being happier on sunnier, warmer days, and
the “Rain Haters” who are in particularly bad moods on days when it rains. But
the researchers also found “Summer Haters” who report being in a worse mood
when the weather is sunnier and warmer (vampires, perhaps?) and the “Unaffected”
who showed little change in mood as a function of weather. I wonder how universal these categories are
(perhaps somewhere with high humidity, we’d find “Humidity Haters”? Or in an
area with little rain, there would be few “Rain Haters?”).
So the weather
affects your mood. Now what? If you, like me, are someone who is affected
by the weather, try taking note of it. By attributing a grouchy mood to a rainy
day, you may be less likely to assume the bad mood is due to some other important
aspect of your life. It may also be worth deducing the weather personalities of
those closest to you. You may be a Summer Lover, but if your parent, child,
friend, spouse is a Summer Hater, it may help you better understand why they
seem so down on days when the sun is shining and (to you) all seems right with
the world.
Do you know of other
surprising links between weather and mood? Share them in the comments! Also
tell us your weather personality.
The Articles:
- Huibers, M., de Graaf, L., Peeters, F., & Arntz, A. (2010). Does the weather make us sad? Meteorological determinants of mood and depression in the general population Psychiatry Research, 180 (2-3), 143-146 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2009.09.016
- Keller, M., Fredrickson, B., Ybarra, O., Cote, S., Johnson, K., Mikels, J., Conway, A., & Wager, T. (2005). A Warm Heart and a Clear Head: The Contingent Effects of Weather on Mood and Cognition Psychological Science, 16 (9), 724-731 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2005.01602.x
- Tsutsumi, H., Tanabe, S., Harigaya, J., Iguchi, Y., & Nakamura, G. (2007). Effect of humidity on human comfort and productivity after step changes from warm and humid environment Building and Environment, 42 (12), 4034-4042 DOI: 10.1016/j.buildenv.2006.06.037
- Howarth, E., & Hoffman, M. (1984). A multidimensional approach to the relationship between mood and weather British Journal of Psychology, 75 (1), 15-23 DOI: 10.1111/j.2044-8295.1984.tb02785.x
- Klimstra, T., Frijns, T., Keijsers, L., Denissen, J., Raaijmakers, Q., van Aken, M., Koot, H., van Lier, P., & Meeus, W. (2011). Come rain or come shine: Individual differences in how weather affects mood. Emotion, 11 (6), 1495-1499 DOI: 10.1037/a0024649
I am personally a lover of the sunny, hot and dry weather, as long as I'm not stuck in a house with no air conditioning! I enjoy being out in it, when I have something to do. I get really cold easily, and so when it is 80 degrees and the humidity is relatively low, I'm lovin' it. Conversely, when it is cold and cloudy for too long, I really miss the sun and I seem to be grouchier than I am when it is sunny. I'm conducting a survey right now, in fact to see if there is a correlation between gender, weather and mood.
ReplyDeleteI will be posting the results on January 7, 2014, but will continue to keep the survey up beyond that to see how the results grow over time.
Is there a correlation between gender, mood, and weather?
http://www.pjet-images.com/pjet-images/survey.php