With what do most people have a love-hate relationship?  What do we talk about when we can’t think of  anything else to say?  What do we complain about regularly?  What is likely to be totally new every few hours?  What newscast would be complete without it?  The weather, of course.  And one person’s delight is another’s nemesis.

For example, the coming of spring causes most of us to react with delight to the burgeoning changes.  We feel cheerful, optimistic, and more energetic.   To others who are weather-sensitive, however, spring can be a mixed bag.  For some it simply marks the end of a mild depression, sometimes referred to as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).  For others it can actually contribute to increased suicide attempts.

For hundreds of years scientists have tried hard to understand how human beings are conditioned by weather.  Contemporary scientists, called biometeorologists, continue to study the effects of weather on people;  the relationship between mental and physical health and changes in temperature, humidity and atmospheric pressure.  That there is a connection is not surprising.  After all, 98% of our skin is intimately in touch with the ocean of air that surrounds us.  The atmosphere conditions us, some more than others.

Stephen Rosen, author of the book Weathering, suggests that half to three-quarters of the population is subjectively weather-sensitive– at least intermittently.  The degree of sensitivity is affected by many factors such as temperament, age, physique, gender, station in life, and perhaps even location of residence.  In general the very young, the very old, females, and geniuses exhibit more weather-sensitivity.  Rosen even suggests that our moods today correlate with what the weather was one or two days age.  Why not check it out in your own life?

Hippocrates, often referred to as the father of medicine, was probably one of the first biometeorologists.  He may have been weather-sensitive himself because he told medical students to study the relationships between disease and the seasons!

Large-sample studies have defined at least thirty-seven symptoms of weather-sensitivity.  Research suggests that one’s reaction time tends to be slower during periods of cloudy, snowy or rainy weather.  The diastolic (resting phase) blood pressure falls when we travel from a cold to a warmer climate and vice versa.  Root canal pain increases during cold, moist weather.  The incidence of appendicitis tends to rise during heat waves.  Shifts in atmospheric conditions are believed to trigger temporary symptoms such as fatigue, disinclination to work, restless sleep, headaches, impaired concentration, loss of appetite, bad moods, and an increased tendency to make mistakes.

When the barometric pressure falls, the body often absorbs more water from the intestines causing swelling in the legs, waistline, or elsewhere.  For example, retained water can squeeze brain tissue, leading to irritability and depression in some cases.  Rises in the barometric pressure, on the other hand, usually lead to fair weather and correspondingly promote sunny disposition and induce positive health changes.

Some European countries actually provide medically-oriented-weather projections.  The Bioprognosis system forecasts medical ailments based upon the weather phases and observed lags in individual-weather responses.  Imagine turning on your radio or television and hearing something like this:

 “Expect scattered sore throats and sleep disturbances tonight,  Tomorrow, an increase in upper respiratory infections, headaches, depression, and general malaise.  Anticipate a decrease in sleep disturbances and an increase in energy levels by the following morning.”

If  you react to the weather differently from others, be tolerant.  One or all of you may be weather sensitive–just in different ways.   We need not be victims of the weather, however.  We can take responsibility for donning (or doffing) appropriate clothing, for using artificial light sources that are as similar to daylight as possible, and for enjoying the variety that atmospheric conditions contribute to our lives.  We can also use a supplement to help keep our brain neurotransmitters functioning optimally.

What supplement, did I hear you ask? EnerPrime ä,  of course.  If you are one of the weather-sensitive, it just might help to reduce the severity of your symptoms.  Let it rain, snow, mist, bake, or blow—your internal life can be healthfully green and systematically balanced regardless of the weather.

by Arlene Taylor Ph.D.