How Does the Weather and Climate Affect Mental Health?

Have you ever thought about how the weather can affect your mental health? 

The rain 

Unless you love feeling cosy on rainy days and curling up with a book by the fire, rainy days can get us down. If it’s cold and dreary, the dark and heavy clouds can limit sunlight getting to us, which can impact our mood when it happens for a consistent amount of time. Interestingly, research found that around nine per cent of people are “rain haters”. While some of us may feel slightly down and tired when it rains, rain haters feel anger with more rainfall. Another study also reported that we take to Facebook to complain with negative posts! 

The reason why we feel lethargic during cold and dark weather is because when we’re exposed to less sunlight, our bodies produce more melatonin which makes us tired. A lack of vitamin D from less sunlight exposure can also give us the blues, which when more serious is seasonal affective disorder (SAD) – also known as winter depression. So, while you might want to wrap up in a blanket and indulge in comfort food or nap, there is a scientific reason why you want to do nothing rather than grab your golf umbrella and venture out into the wet. 

Symptoms of SAD include: 

The sun 

In the same way, vitamin D from sunlight exposure regulates our mood and can help in fighting depression and illnesses. There’s a reason why vitamin D is called the sunshine vitamin – sunlight stimulates our brain to produce this important nutrient. Serotonin is also released which