Does warmer weather makes you feel down? Although it’s rare — and much less common than seasonal affective disorder that can happen in winter — some people do have summer seasonal affective disorder.
A recent meta-analysis of 24 studies including over 32,000 participants estimated that 0.57 percent of people have summer SAD. (The prevalence of winter SAD was about 5 percent.)
The seasonal markers of summer — sweltering heat, oppressive humidity and allergy-inducing pollen — are likely causes.
“It’s a simple prediction to make that as the world gets hotter, more people are going to be disrupted,” said Norman Rosenthal, a psychiatrist at Georgetown University School of Medicine who first characterized SAD in the scientific literature in 1984. Rosenthal was not involved in the meta-analysis.
Experts say that it is important to acknowledge your feelings and seek medical help if you believe you may be experiencing summer SAD.
Cooling down may help temporarily, but traditional depression treatments — therapy and antidepressants — are effective for summer depression as well.
Catch up quickly every weekday morning with a rundown of the 7 most important and interesting stories. Sign up for The 7 newsletter.
The post The surprising way hot weather can affect your mood appeared first on Washington Post.
