Everyone has good and bad moods, but for some, feeling happy or sad seems to be linked to the weather. According to one common theory, the more sunlight people get, the better they feel. Are theories such as this one backed up by science, though?
One way in which weather seems to affect mood is seen in those who suffer from a type of depression known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). People with SAD feel bad during the same season each year—usually in the winter. Psychologists aren’t sure what causes SAD, but they think that it could be brought on by a lack of sunlight. Not getting enough sun interferes with one’s pattern of sleep and affects the brain chemical that controls one’s mood.
To better understand the relationship between weather and mood, scientists from various parts of the world have studied the effects of a variety of weather types. A 1980s study conducted in the United Kingdom found that of all the ways to measure weather, humidity affected mood the most by making people feel sleepier and less able to concentrate. Since then, however, other studies have drawn different conclusions.
每個人的心情都有好有壞，但對某些人來說，感覺快樂或悲傷似乎和天氣有關。根據一個常見的理論，人接觸陽光愈多，感覺就愈好。不過，像這樣的理論有科學支持嗎？
天氣似乎會影響心情的一種方式在那些罹患一種稱為「季節性情緒失調」憂鬱症的人身上可看到。有季節性情緒失調的人每年到了同樣的季節心情就不好，通常是在冬天。心理學家並不確定是什麼造成季節性情緒失調，但他們認為有可能是缺乏日光照射所引起的。日照不足會妨礙人的睡眠模式並且影響腦中控制情緒的化學物質。
為了更了解天氣和情緒的關係，世界各地的科學家研究了各種天氣類型造成的影響。一份一九八○年代在英國所進行的研究發現在所有測量天氣的方法中，濕度讓人昏昏欲睡且較無法專心，對心情影響最大。然而在那之後，其他的研究則得出不同的結論。
文章出處：Live互動英語雜誌
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