“Several studies have shown that weather variables such as the level of temperature, sunshine or humidity influence our mental states and our behaviors,” explains psychiatrist Hugo Bottemanne.
This article is taken from the monthly magazine Sciences et Avenir – La Recherche n°928, dated June 2024.
Hugo Bottemanne is a psychiatrist at Bicêtre hospital (Val-de-Marne) and at the Brain Institute in Paris.
“Women are generally more sensitive to seasonal variations”
Sciences et Avenir: What is the impact of temperature on mental health?
Hugo Bottemanne: Several studies have shown that meteorological variables such as the level of temperature, sunshine or humidity influence our mental states and our behaviors: when the temperature increases, we tend to observe more violent behavior and more accidents. of the road, but also more suicide attempts and deaths.
Research has also shown that temperature peaks and prolonged exposure to natural light during summer periods are associated with episodes of hypomania or mania: the mood is said to be high, with exaltation and hyperactivity and excessive search for stimulation.
Are there some profiles more vulnerable than others?
Women are generally more sensitive to seasonal variations and experience depression more frequently during winter periods. A Danish team thus showed in a cohort of 1794 subjects that the prevalence of winter depression affected 12% of those questioned, in particular women but also young people. However, the data is still fragmentary.
“Mood could thus be a regulator of behavior”
What biological mechanisms lead to these mood changes?
Mood is not an emotional state like sadness or happiness. It more broadly determines how we generate beliefs about the surrounding world, how we respond emotionally to events, and how we act to seek rewards or escape dangers. From an evolutionary point of view, mood could thus be a regulator[…]
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