Psychologist: on grey days serotonin can drop by 20% - that's why rain ruins some people's mood

After a particularly hot summer, the first rain feels like a relief. But not everyone experiences it that way. Some people feel sadder, more tired and unmotivated on grey days - especially when the bad weather arrives suddenly and the rainy days pile up one after another. Can the weather really change our mood?

According to Clara Anaya, a psychologist at the Quirónsalud hospital in Córdoba, this isn't some rare quirk of a handful of sensitive people. It can affect up to 60% of the population. And it's not about whether you like rain or not. Behind the feeling are less daylight, sleep, changed habits and the emotional associations we attach to certain weather.

Cloudy skies lower serotonin

The first explanation is literally outside the window. When the sky is overcast, we get less natural light, and the body feels it. Light plays a part in processes linked to biological rhythms and mood regulation, including the activity of serotonin - a neurotransmitter associated with emotional well-being, appetite and sleep. According to the psychologist, its level can drop by 20%. Melatonin, the hormone of the sleep-wake cycle, comes into play too: less light during the day shifts circadian rhythms and brings that drowsiness and lack of energy, sometimes accompanied by apathy and irritability.

Plans fall through, the fridge door opens

A sunny day calls you out for a walk, a workout outdoors, a coffee on a terrace. Rain wipes all that out. The trip is cancelled, lunch is postponed, the walk doesn't happen. A small vicious circle forms: it's raining, so we stay home, move less and less and lose the things that make us happy - and our social life shrinks along with it. Not because we want to isolate ourselves, but because the weather changes our habits. One of them is food: when we're feeling low, we reach for sugar and fat in search of quick comfort.

There's a deeper layer too. The brain links situations with the emotions we felt in them. If we once went through a hard time on similar grey days, rain can reawaken those feelings, even melancholy or loneliness.

What actually helps

The psychologist's advice is simple, which doesn't mean it's easy: make the most of every bit of daylight and get outside as soon as the weather allows. If you can't walk or exercise outdoors, move at home - rain mustn't become an excuse for days of sitting still. Don't let a rainy afternoon become an afternoon of isolation: meet someone, make a phone call, spend time with family. And you can also embrace the grey days - a book, cooking, a film, a forgotten hobby.

For many people, after all, rain means exactly the opposite: peace, rest, permission to stay home without feeling you should be somewhere else. October will bring us enough grey days to find out which type we are. The only thing that matters is that the weather outside doesn't decide how we feel inside.