Claim: "Constant cloudy weather causes major shifts in mood swings."

Question

I chose to fact check the claim: "Constant cloudy weather causes major shifts in mood swings." Many people claim that their constant mood shifts is due to the weather. As someone who just moved from a constantly sunny place to a predominantly cloudy place I've noticed the lack of motivation people feel when it is cloudy. I've also noticed that people tend to travel to the sunny warm places during the right seasons like the summer to be happy. Tourists are almost never not happy when they are in a sunny warm place. When the weather is cloudy, i find many people have been found to be lazier, and less motivated to go out and do stuff. Tests have shown that low amounts of sunlight can trigger a reduction in serotonin which affects your mood. I was very curious mostly on whether this depends on the person and where they were raised... or if everyone experiences mood shifts with the weather such as cloudiness?

Comments

That does seem like a commonly believed thing and I agree that when the weather is nice is feel happier. But I do wonder if this is different for everyone?  It would've been interesting to see if there had been any polls or surveys done with a varied group of people to see if their results back up this claim.

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I do like this claim and can relate to it, but it would be nice to see if there was any data or studies done about people who feel the opposite? I know there are some people out there but maybe it is a significant amount (or not) to see if this is the general publics opinion?

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I love the main idea from this, but I just do not see any sources to back this. Possibly looking into survey's and educational experiments online to find some more scientific correlations. On a human base level it does make sense though. The reduction in serotonin is one I strongly personally see and agree with.

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While I think this claim is accurate to a lot of people's scenarios, it's a broad generalization. I'm curious why you chose to use a source that discusses how to cope with mood shifts in cloudy weather rather than an article that shows data and examples of people's mood shifting.

Answer 1

I am fact checking the claim that "constant cloudy weather causes major shift in mood swings." This claim is saying that constant cloudy weather causes big mood shifts for every single person. Upon doing some research, I have found that there is actually not correlation with mood and weather, "regarding mood and weather, most of the experimental evidence suggests there is no relationship. A study of mood using data collected from participants’ online diaries and weather station data found that daily weather was not associated with mood" (Cates). While it is possible for people to have shift in mood due to the weather, it is due to personal feelings and opinions. Some people hate winter and clouds, and this is what causes the major shift in mood swings that some people experience. 

Sources - https://sites.utexas.edu/think-twice/2024/09/24/does-weather-affect-mood/#:~:text=Regarding%20mood%20and%20weather%2C%20most,associated%20with%20mood%20(6). 

Comments

This additional source you have listed from UT Austin does provide more insight into the topic. I, however, was wondering if there were any other sources you found that could support or further rebuke the original claim. Here is a study from the NIH that digs deeper into the brain specifically and neural substrates that is worth checking out.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4018827/

Answer 2

I am fact-checking the claim "Constant cloudy weather causes major shifts in mood swings.". This claim states that people's moods can shift depending on the weather, especially when it is rainy or cloudy. I found this claim to be mostly true. There is a mental disorder known as SAD which stands for seasonal affective disorder, commonly known as seasonal depression. SAD's "happens during certain seasons of the year, most often fall or winter. It is thought that shorter days and less daylight may set off a chemical change in the brain leading to symptoms of depression" (Hopkins). So people can experience seasonal depression due to less daylight, which leads to mood swings and a lack of motivation. The only reason why I'm not saying this claim is 100% true is because, it might not affect everyone so some people might just be annoyed because they can't control the weather. 

Source: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/seasonal-affective-disorder#:~:text=Seasonal%20affective%20disorder%20(SAD)%20is,antidepressants%20can%20help%20treat%20SAD.