Why Wind Makes us Cranky
Have you ever noticed yourself becoming restless on windy days? Studies suggest that this phenomenon may not simply be coincidental. It’s thought the wind’s influence can alter our emotions and behavior in unexpected ways, leading to feelings of discomfort, anger, or unease. Let’s see why wind can make us cranky.
Leaves rustling in the wind, trees swaying back and forth and feeling its chill on our skin and in our minds. Wind can make us irritable but also has soothing or cooling properties at times. Why do such powerful forces of nature have such an immense effect on human emotions and temperaments?
Did you know negative associations with wind can affect our nervous systems? Wind can be unpredictable and noisy in its effects on us, prompting an elevated state of alert or creating stress. Our nervous systems were designed to detect changes that required rapid responses – when winds become strong our body becomes more likely to trigger “fight or flight” mode releasing stress hormones like cortisol, adrenaline, and norepinephrine into circulation as a defense response mechanism.
Hormonal changes in response to wind can make us unnerved or anxious as our bodies prepare themselves to respond to potential danger. While wind might not directly threaten us, its constant stimulation makes calming down difficult.
Our skin is one of the primary sources of sensory information and as such is sensitive to environmental changes; when wind blows across your skin it creates a constant and fluctuating stream of sensation that becomes irritating over time – particularly if combined with cold temperatures or heat waves.
Wind can also contribute to skin dehydration by evaporating moisture off its surface and leaving behind dryness, tightness, itchiness, and general discomfort – adding further aggravation for sufferers of both conditions.
Pressure changes caused by wind gusts may alter our inner ear causing dizziness, disorientation or nausea thusly contributing to greater feelings of irritation during windy conditions.
Wind can have an immediate and significant effect on our hair and clothing when out and about in the wind, creating inconvenience to those who spend hours maintaining their look indoors only to have it destroyed the minute you walk outside. Okay, I admit that I am not one of those people. I do my best, but in Colorado, the breeze blows, and so does your hair. Also, wind blowing skirts up or causing clothing to stick can make us feel awkward or make us self-conscious, worsening our already present physiological irritability and worsening overall mood in windy conditions.
Wind can make people irate due to physical discomfort caused by windburn and debris, atmospheric pressure shifts (yep, my bones and joints put me on alert) or humidity level variations and disruption to daily activities such as outdoor work or leisure pursuits. Additionally, you may experience emotional stress or anxiety because of strong winds’ unpredictable and inextricable nature.
I’ve given you a few reasons for wind caused cranky. But what can we do about it? Finding ways to cope with or mitigate its effects – for instance through stress reduction techniques or skin and body protection strategies can make even the blusteriest days more manageable.
Recognizing and acknowledging these potential effects of wind on our mood and well-being can help us better cope with its presence, mitigating its adverse impact. By seeking shelter or altering plans as necessary or taking deep breaths to stay calm we can learn to weather this unpredictable element.
Wind can also be beneficial when you want to go fly a kite or as a alternate source of engery.
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Well, what do you think? Tell me in the comments!
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged cranky, Savage WInds, Tena Stetler, Wind effects on psyche by Tena Stetler with 8 comments.
You made me stop and think today. Wind definitely does effect me and I had no idea about the correlation. I have arthritis all over which is never happy with atmospheric changes. Thanks for the interesting information!
Thanks for stopping by Kim! Yep arthritis is never happy with wind for atmospheric changes. Better at forcasting the weather than the professionals. Have a great weekend!
I enjoyed learning all of that. Wind didn’t bother me until we moved from a basement apartment to a two-story house. The wind is so loud on the second floor as it wraps around the house. Though one good thing it did was alert us to the fact that my daughter’s window wasn’t properly sealed, because it rattled extremely loud every time the wind blew. Scared her to death at nighttime. We sealed up the loose side and it’s much better. My daughter is still scared of the wind though because the big tree is by her window.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting Chelsey. I kinda like it when the wind howls once in a while around the corner of my house. But the shadows the wind can create about tree limbs can be scary. Glad you got your daughters window fixed. Have a great weekend!!
Hmmm. This makes me think, Tina! If it’s simply wind blowing without being so strong as to threaten property or other damage, I’ve always rather liked it. Of course, then my home has been victim to wind damage and, once, a tornado, so if we’re talking that kind of wind, I’m definitely! stressed 🙂 But frequently I find ordinarily, blustery wind somewhat energizing. Still, the facts you present are very real and I need to reexamine my reaction.
Thanks for stopping by Barbara. I used to love wind with thunderstorms until we got wind-driven softball-sized hail in 2017. What a mess it made. I still like Thunderstorms less hail and wind. But the constant wind we’ve had this winter and spring gets on my nerves. I’ve talked to a few people that also said the wind make them cranky, so I decided to see what would cause it. Thus my blog was born. LOL Have a great weekend!
I’ve always liked the wind except, of course, at dangerous or damaging levels. Have you ever heard it whistling or howling through a valley? Amazing! My ears are sensitive, by the way, and I still enjoy it.
I had to laugh about being wind-blown in Colorado, one of our favorite places on earth. You are so lucky to live there!
Thank you for this interesting post, Tena!
Thank you so much for stopping by Anastasia! I have to agree with you Colorado is one of my favorite places on the planet. I count my lucky starts to have been raised here and still call Colorado home.