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ConnorStewart
MissStanfield
LanguageArts
26February2015
HowDoestheWeatherAffectYourMood?

Whenyouseerainwhatisyourainitialmood?Mostpeoplewouldsaysad
becausetheycantgooutsideanddostuff.Whileotherpeoplesaytheyarehappy
whenitrains.Whyisthis?Whydopeoplehavedifferentfeelingswhenitcomesto
weatherandtheirmood?Whenitssunnyout,thefirstthingthatIthinkofis,Imgonna
goswimtoday!orIcantwaittoridemybike!Whileotherpeopleliketospendtheir
timeinsidedoingthethingsthattheyliketodo.WhatIwanttofindoutiswhysome
peoplearedifferentindifferentweathersituations.
AccordingtoJaapDenissenofHumboldtUniversity,differentfactorslike
temperature,wind,sunlight,precipitation,andairpressureallaffectonesmood.He
conductedanexperimentonpeople,rangingfrom1365yearsold,toseewhattheyfelt
duringeachday.Denissendidnottellthemwhathewasusingtheinformationfor,this
issoparticipantswouldntchangetheirmoodduringtheweatherwasoccurring.This
wouldleadtoinconclusiveresults.
Whathewoulddowascollectresultsfromhisparticipantsthroughanonline
survey.Thiswouldbepairedupwithoneszipcode.Thus,allowingDenissento
comparewhatpeoplefeltaccordingtowhatweatheronewasexperiencing.Whathe

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foundoutwasastonishing.Temperature,wind,andsunlightaffectedonesnegative
mood,ratherthanmakingitpositive.Thisdiscoverywasagreatfactorinhisstudies.
Usually,youwouldthinkthatthesunisconnectedtohappinessandajoyfulmood.
Well,thisisntthecaseinDenissensstudy.Denissenthinksthisisduetonew
technologyandhowithasconsumedpeopleslives.Hethinksthatoverall,the
stereotypicalweatherandmoodshaschangedovertime.
JennieWood,aphcycologistpartneredwith
www.infoplease.com
statesthat
S.A.Ddisorderisarealdisorder.ThefullnameofthisdisorderisSeasonalAffective
Disorder.S.A.Disaverycommondisorderthatmakespeopledepressedwhenthe
seasonschange.Thiscancauseinconclusiveresultsbecauseitisanaturalthingthat
happenstoahuman.Soittechnicallyisnttheirtruemoodtowardstheweather.
Whenitrainsoutpeopletendtobeneutral.Inheavyrain,peopletendtobemore
upsetanduncomfortable.Astudyconductedbyananonymoussourceshowsthatwhen
itwaspouringoutandpeopledidn'tknow,theyhadthesensetobeuncomfortable.This
isareallycommonphenomenonandhasnoexplanationtowardsit.Onlythatair
pressurecouldbeafactor,butthisishighlydoubtedbymultiplescientists.
Theworstpossibletimeforrainyweatherisonlate/darkautumndays.Thisis
becausenaturallightcannotgetthroughthecloudsandincreasingalesspositivevibe.
Anotherfactorwithrainisthatthenaturalsaltlevelsoftheraincreatesanaromathat
tendstomakesadpeoplehappierandhappypeoplesad.Thisisaphenomenonthat
hasbeendeterminedas,strange,or,abnormalbymultiplescientists.Rainyaroma
causesdifferentmoodsbecausethewaythatcertaincombinationsofthearoma

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stimulatesthebrainmoreorless.WhenalotofvitaminDhoweverisemittedfromthe
sunthiscausespeopletobehappier,iftheyarenaturallyanoutsideperson.If
someonewhoisaninsidepersongoesoutside,thevitaminDemittedfromthesuncan
causeaneutralornegativeeffect.Thisiskindoflikedaylightsavingstime.Everyone
hastoadjust,justlikeinsidersadjusttothesun.
Altogether,differentstudieshaveshownthatweatherthatwasassociatedwith
happinesshadturnedtonegativeorneutralthoughts.Whileweatherthatwas
associatedwithnegativityturnedtoamorepositivenote.ThissurprisedmebecauseI
expectedresultslikesunnyweathermakesyouhappyorrainyweathermakesyousad.
Thiswasntthecasetoday.IsortofagreewithJaapDenissenonthetechnologyisa
factorinyourmoodduringtheweather.Backwhenmyparentssawrainasakid,the
firstthingtheythoughtwas,Awwman!Wecantgooutside!Today,kidswouldsay,Its
raining,Ohwell!,Ihavemyphone.Thisshowshowtechnologyistoblameforthe
changeinthestereotypesofweatherandmood.Therearealotofpeoplewhodisplay
feelingsassociatedtoifitssunny,they'rehappy.Ifitisrainingtheyresad.Forthe
majoritymoodtowardsweatherhaschanged.Toanswermyquestion,yes,theweather
doesaffectyourmood.

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10%WorkCited
"CanWeatherAffectYourMood?"
PsychCentral.com
.N.p.,01Feb.2015.Web.05
Feb.2015.

Colihan,Kelly."HowTheWeatherAffectsOurMood."
HowTheWeatherAffectsOur
Mood
.WebMD,n.d.Web.

"DoesRainyFallWeatherReallyAffectYourBrain,Mood?"
AccuWeather
.N.p.,6Oct.
2013.Web.11Feb.2015.

"HereComestheSun:HowtheWeatherAffectsOurMood."
TheConversation
.N.p.,
JuneJuly2014.Web.13Feb.2015.

Wood,Jennie."TheWeatherandYourMood."
Infoplease
.Infoplease,n.d.Web.13
Feb.2015.