Can Weather Affect Your Mood?

We have all been there - the gloomy feeling associated with rainy days or surges of energy when the bright, sunny sky greets you outside your window. Yet, while people easily dismiss the sudden change of mood as some sort of coincidental phenomenon, science actually allows us to firmly establish that weather can indeed impact one's mood.

From seasonal affective disorder to the way meteorological pressure affects brain chemistry, the relation of weather and mood is multi-faceted and interestingly dynamic. Let's explore the basic science behind it and see exactly how each of the seasons can change your mental status (1).

Seasonal Affective Disorder: When Winter Blues Hit Hard

Winter alone can make most of us feel less than our usual energy level. For some, however, the shorter days and colder temperatures of winter mean more than a passing case of the blues. Seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, is a type of depression that comes and goes with the colder seasons. It tends to start in fall, peaks in winter, and then clears up in spring (1).

Common symptoms of SAD include: