None of you are always happy or always sad. Your moods can change frequently depending upon many factors. Your diet, fatigue due to too much work, not enough exercise, lack of sleep, and happy and sad events that occur in your lives are just a few examples of things that can affect your moods. Research has also shown that Mother Nature can affect you greatly as well. The weather is one particularly large indicator of how your mood will turn out for the day. Sunny days, rainy days, and the daily temperature can definitely impact human emotion and even have a drastic effect on the quality of your sleep. 
A very well-known way in which weather affects mood is what has been labeled as SAD (seasonal affective disorder). It has been commonly referred to “winter blues,” “winter depression,” or “seasonal depression.” This is a condition in which a person’s mood is directly tied to the changing of the seasons to the extreme that winter can actually bring about depression. It is not because of the cold weather but is linked to the amount of sunlight to which the person is exposed. When a person is outside in the sun, he absorbs light through the thin parts of his skull, and thus, this helps to dictate the body clock. This light also triggers chemical reactions in his brain that make him happier and more alert. For example, the light causes the brain to stop producing the sleep hormone melatonin that makes a person more tired and less alert. On the other hand, sunlight produces more serotonin often called the “feel good hormone.” This hormone is used in many antidepressants. Many people can be affected by the reduced amount of sunshine in winter, but the effect on a person with SAD is amplified to the extent that it could affect his performance in his daily life. This condition can be combatted or helped with the use of lamps designed to imitate sunlight. I personally have experienced this condition and now live in a climate where more sun usually occurs during the winter days. Snow is also a factor that makes me unhappy. I have never cared for snow and would prefer to live on a tropical island. 
Rainy days make your life more difficult even though they do not directly affect your energy or hormones unless you are actually standing in the rain and getting wet, of course. The most obvious way that rain can affect your mood is preventing socialization. You may be more likely to stay home and socialize less which can make you feel tired and low and even arouse feelings of “cabin fever” and frustration. If you do go out, your mood could be one of anger or frustration because you are getting wet or because you are dealing with traffic problems because of drivers not able to handle wet roads well. I suffer from a mild form of arthritis in my knee because of a childhood injury. On rainy days, my joints seem to ache more which causes me to feel bad and thus, this definitely has a direct effect on my mood for the day. 
As a result of energy usage, temperature can also affect your mood. During the cold weather in winter, your immune system has to try harder to keep your body warm, and because of this, your heart rate speeds up. Therefore, the energy your body must exert to keep you warm may affect the supply of energy left to do other life activities. You may also find that you eat more to give your body additional fuel, and of course, some of this added body energy will be required to digest this new food. Because your immune system is under much pressure during this time of year, you are more likely to become ill. Your body is less able to fight off bad bacteria and viruses. When you are ill, you obviously do not feel well, and this will put you in a bad mood. In fact, a low mood is recognized as one of the symptoms of the flu or a cold. Finally, like rain, the cold weather can worsen any chronic pain you may not normally experience. An old injury to your wrist or leg or shoulder, for example, can flare up and make you feel terrible and ultimately depressed, especially if this pain prevents you from doing the things you need to do and want to do. The best ways to avoid some of this depression during the winter season are to eat more foods with vitamins and minerals known to boost your immune system, to make sure you get plenty of sleep, and to keep your body warm. 
Hot weather can also be as mood changing as cold weather. You experience more sunlight which is good, but if the temperature is extremely hot and humid, your energy levels will once again be reduced. You may feel lethargic and lazy. Your body will try to shut down to conserve body fluids because you will perspire more during this time. You may lose your appetite and not eat the amount of food you need to produce the necessary energy to deal with the heat. I live in a very humid city of Atlanta, Georgia. I often find our heat and humidity very oppressive. I love summer here, but I do find that spending too much time outside can affect my mood. I sometimes have difficulty breathing which can make me feel low and lethargic at times. 
Not only are your daytime activities and moods often affected by weather, but even your nighttime can be altered. Cold weather and more hours of darkness can interrupt a good night of sleeping. You may sleep more lightly which does not provide your body and mind with quality time necessary to recover from the previous daytime activities. Because of this, you are likely to suffer more illnesses, have lower energy, possible headaches, and be in a bad mood. Furthermore, you may be getting up in darkness which the body does not normally like so you may be hormonally unprepared for the day. Because you are tired and do not feel that well, you may start your day off in a bad way—forgetting things, getting into arguments, or fighting with heavy traffic on your way to work. All of these problems can ruin your mood for the rest of the day. 
Of course, not everyone is affected by the weather in all of the ways mentioned above. However, at times in your life, a hot, humid day or a gloomy rainy day or a cold wintry day has been known to ruin what could have been a perfectly wonderful day for you. I personally have discovered that weather plays a much larger role in my mood than I wish. During the times when I realize the weather is affecting me negatively, I try to keep busy with things I enjoy and not to focus on the weather so much. If it requires me to stay inside, then I may listen to music, I may write, or I may watch a good movie. Whatever ways you are affected by the weather, it is definite that Mother Nature does play an important role in the enjoyment and fulfillment of your life. 
Randi D. Ward
August 23, 2013
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