Climate and emotional state
“What a bad day, I would not leave the house” or “what a day, I hope it ends soon”. These are some of the expressions that are often heard when the weather does not go along. On the contrary, during clear days things look different, you want to do outdoor activities, the hours pass faster and everything is seen in a more positive way.
We have it clear, but what does the investigation say? Does the climate affect our mood?
Well, it seems that way. According to the Medline Plus portal, exposure to sunlight increases the production of vitamin D in the body, which is linked to the production of serotonin. The Sanitas group informs that this and other hormones work together in the regulation of mood , anxiety and fear , and it is also related to the production of melatonin and control of sleep
cycles.
Therefore, the lack of exposure to sunlight, in the case of cloudy or rainy days, can affect the production of this hormone increasing our levels of irritability and fatigue. In the same way, abrupt and sudden changes in climatic conditions can affect our organism, causing it to become destabilized.
From the psychological point of view, the existence of a type of disorder that is motivated by climatic changes has been raised. It is called seasonal affective disorder, and its main symptom is the presence of depressive episodes , which occur more repeatedly and aggravated during certain seasons of the year. According to the Department of Psychiatry University Hospital Basurto in Bilbao this disorder is related to physiological changes such as: disturbances in the sleep cycle, low production of melatonin and neurotransmitters such as serotonin. It is estimated that between 1 and 10% of the population can suffer it, being more frequent in ages between 20 and 35 years.
The presence of this disorder, as well as minor changes in mood may vary by geographic location. In addition, other factors such as the amount of sunlight , the level of pollution or rainfall also play their part.
As it can be observed, the climate has the capacity to influence our emotional and mental state, being a variable effect according to each person. However, there are many other factors in our daily life that can affect our mood, so attributing our mood only to the weather is a mistake.
Anyway, a Sunday in the sun never hurts.
