Why weather affects mood

Participants reported higher levels of momentary happiness on days when it was sunny, while on rainy days how people felt was found to be lower. Not only is it a much nicer experience to wake up to the sun shining, barometric pressure — aka the weight of the air above us — also plays an important part. According to bed specialists Dreams , low barometric pressure at high altitudes also cause lower oxygen saturation, which can make you drowsy.

Air flow is extremely important for getting to sleep and this is why low barometric pressure can have an impact on your ability to nod off.

Low barometric pressure also comes hand-in-hand with low light levels. Sufferers of Seasonal Affective Disorder SAD — a type of depression that comes and goes with the seasons — are often helped through the darkest days by the promise of lighter, warmer and brighter ones come spring. SAD usually begins in the late autumn months and lasts through winter before remission in the springtime, but continuing bad weather into the summer months means that people need to wait even longer for reprieve.

The science suggests that otherwise negative moods are improved on days where the weather is good, but there is almost no effect on people who were already feeling positive. Do you startle easily?

Does caffeine have a great effect on you? Research has indicated that hypersensitive people are genetically different from folks who have a normal degree of sensitivity. This might explain why the rain or cold or heat affects some of us much more than others, and why some people would thrive in a humid, hot climate, while others would wilt.

Your response to weather would depend on your sensitivity type. In a study published in Emotion in , researchers defined weather-reactivity types by linking self-reported daily moods across 30 days with objective weather data.

They found that there were four distinct types of people when it comes to reactions to weather. As they wrote in the abstract:. The types were labeled Summer Lovers better mood with warmer and sunnier weather , Unaffected weak associations between weather and mood , Summer Haters worse mood with warmer and sunnier weather , and Rain Haters particularly bad mood on rainy days. In addition, intergenerational concordance effects were found for two of these types, suggesting that weather reactivity may run in the family.

I know my weather type. I'm a Summer Lover and a Rain Hater. Arrange a meeting with us at our office, We'll be happy to work with you! Wanna join our crazy team? We are always looking for new talents and we were expecting you. Time to apply, buddy! Search for:. Recent Posts. How the weather influences your mood?

Happy Painting by Gina de Gorna — Pic. Sad Rain, by Jovica Kostic — Pic.