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kjusewiczh's picture

Weather and your Mood

After our class on Thursday, I started thinking about mood and what controls it. I have noticed that weather seems to be a very strong control on people's moods. From the time I was young, I always associated the sun with happiness and rainy/cloudy days with being sad or upset. Maybe this was something I was taught or maybe it was something I just sensed on my own, I honestly don't remember. But, when I think about it now, I still connect these feelings. When it is rainy/cloudy or cold people tend to wear dark colors and seem to sulk around. And I have often heard people say that they were so upset it was rainy and that it put them in a really bad mood. However, a visible notice can be observed on campus when it gets sunny. People sit outside in bright colors and have fun. Everyone seems happy and it seems like everyone is smiling. Connections between weather and peoples mood seem to be apparant everywhere and everybody seems to be able to sense this connection. It has been observed that in northern regions where the sun is not visible for months at a time, the suicide rate is enormously higher than in other places. What is it in our brains that senses the change in weather or sunlight and adjusts our moods. Is there an actual connection between the weather and our moods...or is it a learned connection that we all adhere to?

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