Winter: How it affects Human Psyche

Cold temperatures can influence our thoughts and decisions without our even knowing it, experts have found. From influencing what colours women wear to how we judge criminals, from the limits of human creativity to how we treat our friends, chilly temperatures may have a great effect on the human psyche, research shows.

Laura Geggel in Live Science lists five unexpected ways cold weather may influence people.

The red dress effect

Cold weather may influence what colours women wear, but only during a certain time of the month, according to research published in 2013 and 2014.

The research showed that during cold weather, "Women are more likely to wear shades of red and pink on days when they're ovulating," said Jessica Tracy, who authored the research and is an associate professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia in Canada. During ovulation, which is the release of an egg from the ovary, a woman's chances of conceiving are at their highest.

Although it's not clear why women may do this, some researchers think it comes down to sex appeal. "The basic idea is that red and pink colours are sort of a sexual signal," Tracy told Live Science.

When the researchers tried to replicate the study in the summer, the effect vanished, Tracy said. It reappeared when they did a new study during the winter, which they published in 2014 in the journal PLOS ONE.

"Maybe what's going on here is that in the summer when it's warmer, women have more ways of dressing seductively," Tracy said. This idea that women may behave differently when they are ovulating is somewhat controversial, Tracy noted, although she said there is ample evidence to support it.

Cold-blooded murder

Room temperature can influence how people judge criminals, a recent study found.

People in cold rooms in the study were more likely to see criminals as cold-blooded offenders whose crimes were premeditated, according to the study. In contrast, people in hot rooms tended to see criminals as hot-headed and impulsive, according to the 2014 study in the journal PLOS ONE.

In the study, 133 college students in Germany looked at eight mug shots of people who had been arrested. The students wrote what crime they thought the person had committed and rated how impulsive or premeditated they thought it was.

It's not terribly surprising that people link temperature with psychological mindset, the researchers said in the study. Hot and cold temperatures affect the way people judge others all of the time. For instance, compared with when a person is holding a cup of hot coffee, a person holding a cup of iced coffee tends to see others as interpersonally colder, according to a 2008 study in the journal Science.

Romantic movies

It seems that when people feel physically cold, they look for psychological warmth, researchers said in a 2012 study published in the Journal of Consumer Research.

During several experiments, the researchers manipulated the temperatures of both the room that the participants were sitting in as well as that of their drink, and then asked participants to pick out a movie. People tended to choose romance movies when they were cold, the researchers found.

Interestingly, the effect did not hold for people who didn't associate romance movies with psychological warmth, Live Science reported.

The researchers also found that online movie renters chose more romance films when the weather was cold than when it was warm.

Prisoner's dilemma

Temperature may sway how much trust people put in one another, according to a study.

In an experiment called the "iterated prisoner's dilemma," participants were paired together and put in a make-believe jail. The participants were told that authorities did not have enough evidence to convict either of them, but each was asked to testify against the other, according to the 2013 study, published in the journal Evolutionary Psychology.

Participants in the study who were asked to hold a chemical hand warmer during the experiment were twice as likely to cooperate with each other (meaning, they would not testify against the other person) compared with those who held an ice pack, the researchers found.

It's possible that the sensation of physical warmth increased the students' interpersonal trust of one another, the researchers said.

Hot and cold creativity

Different types of creativity can emerge when a person feels hot or cold, researchers found.

In a series of experiments, researchers found that people who were given a heated therapeutic pad, a hot cup of tea or who were in a warm room were better at creative drawing, categorizing objects and thinking of gift ideas for others.

But when they were cold, the participants were better at recognizing metaphors, thinking of new pasta names and planning abstract gift ideas.

It's possible that warmth helps people with warm relational creativity, meaning they may feel psychologically closer to other people and more generous toward them. In contrast, cold may stimulate referential, or distant and cold processing, as people may feel more apart from others.

"The tactile experience of physical warmth seems to be one of the most basic cues through which people learn about their social world," the researchers wrote in the 2014 study, published in the journal Acta Psychologica.

On a more real day to day basis; heading into winter, the days get shorter and colder. This can potentially have a significant effect on individual’s mental health and mood.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a well-documented phenomenon which occurs in conjunction with changes in season. SAD is considered a sub-type of depression, and as such, symptoms of SAD closely mimic those of depression.

However in the SAD sub-type symptoms are limited to approximately the same times each year, with patterns established over a period of years. Predominately SAD symptoms begin in Autumn/Winter and relieve in Spring/Summer, although SAD can be experienced with any seasonal change.

Psychologist David Watson is a keen observer of such reactions. “In modern society, many people do not spend a lot of time outside, which reduces the potential influence of weather on their mood; however, different people actually prefer different types of weather,” says the professor, who is co-director of the Centre for Advanced Measurement of Personality and Psychopathology at the University of Notre Dame in the US state of Indiana. “Some like it hotter, others cooler; some like it dry, others more wet and humid.”

SAD is understandably more common in the Northern Hemisphere where the changes in season are more pronounced. However SAD or symptoms of SAD can still be experienced in Australia although rarely extreme enough to meet full diagnostic criteria.

Even without reaching the full criteria for SAD, most people experience changes in their energy, motivation, sleeping patterns and mood as the seasons change.

Common symptoms of SAD include:

• Irritability
• Feeling depressed most of the day, nearly every day
• Sleeping difficulties, including oversleeping
• Changes in appetite or weight
• Difficulty concentrating
• Suicidal ideation or thoughts of death
• Feeling hopeless or worthless
• Losing interest in activities previously enjoyed
• Easily feeling agitated
• Feeling sluggish, tiredness or low energy
• Social withdrawal
• Anxiety
• Difficulties concentrating

The direct cause of SAD remains unconfirmed, however there are a few factors which are widely thought to contribute to this phenomena.

Reduced sunlight can affect the body’s circadian rhythms (internal body clock), which can lead to feelings of depression.

Reduction in exposure to sunlight can cause a drop in Serotonin levels, which can lead to feelings of depression. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that affects mood.

Disruptions to Melatonin (a type of hormone) levels, which can affect sleeping patterns and mood.

The amount of natural light you are exposed to is a greater contributing factor than the colder weather. However when it is colder outside, it becomes less enticing to go out and experience daylight.

The Australia Psychological Society (2005) has provided these simple tips to stay on top of your mood during the winter months:

• Ensure you get at least one hour of outdoor light each day (preferably in the morning).
• Make an effort to keep up your social life.
• Make sure you keep active with continuing exercise.
• Whilst maintaining these things can take considerably more effort than during the warmer months, they can easily be achieved with some simple planning.

There is an old Norwegian/Swedish (origins are unclear) saying: “There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing”.

Ensuring you have adequate heating in your environment, appropriate clothing and plans for activities can help to get you moving. A conscious effort to ensure that these basic things continue to occur even when the weather is more conducive to staying rugged up inside can help to significantly minimise depressive symptoms, increase energy levels and lift mood.

Exercising, eating nutritious foods, practicing mindfulness, and maintaining social support systems are core components of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Not only is physical activity a fantastic outlet for stress, exercising 30 minutes daily may help your body release endorphins, your natural “happy hormones.” It may be challenging during the holidays to eat healthy, but try to fill up first on healthy fruits and vegetables to maintain a balanced diet then have the occasional indulgence.

Meditation has been shown to improve symptoms in people suffering from depression and anxiety, and may also help you to stay well. Meditation can be as short as a 10-minute session every other day when you take the time to be mindful and check in with your body. Some people, especially those who find it difficult to quiet their minds, may find guided meditation helpful. There are plenty of apps such as Headspace and podcasts available to help you. Other meditative practices such as yoga, taking a quiet stroll in a park, or even closing your eyes to focus on listening to your favourite song can also be helpful.

Keeping in touch with your family, friends, and other caring people in your life strengthens your sense of community, and provides you with a strong support system to call on when you feel down.

When to seek medical attention

Depression can come on during any season, and although some people might think they feel just a little “off,” it is important to call your doctor when you have these concerning signs of depression:

• depressed mood most of the day
• decreased interest or pleasure in activities that you used to enjoy
• difficulty sleeping or sleeping more than usual
• moving slower or feeling more hyperactive during the day
• feeling tired and less energetic
• feeling worthless or excessively guilty
• difficulty concentrating more than usual
• thoughts of death, suicide, or harming others

If you notice these symptoms almost every day during the week, or have thoughts of harming yourself or others, seek medical attention right away. It is also important to reach out to the supportive people in your life. If you notice these symptoms tend to occur in the winter months, you may suffer from seasonal affective disorder (SAD), which could benefit from medical treatment.

SAD or any of the symptoms associated with it, can be effectively treatment with psychological intervention.

Psychological intervention can assist you with living the life you want to live throughout the colder months and into the future.