Is The Weather Impacting On Our Health
If December is anything to go by, this will be one of the coldest winters since records began.
But travel chaos, huge heating bills and economic woe could be the least of our problems.
More worryingly, a new survey suggests that the appalling weather may be having a significant impact on the health of the nation.
The new figures, revealed by leading holiday company Thomson, show that the moods of 61% of people in the UK are strongly affected by the weather.
Whilst the kids are having a great time in the snow and ice, one in two UK adults now claim to be suffering from one or more of the symptoms associated with SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder).
This is a huge (three-fold) increase on the figure of 17, estimated by The SAD Association in 2009.
The symptoms of SAD include depression, lethargy (notably lack of exercise), loss of libido and over-eating.
With this Government’s first official Happiness Index due in 2012, the results highlight the fact that our moods are not always determined by forces we can control.
But there is one way we can help ourselves, and that is to take a winter holiday abroad.
The survey also reveals just how much we need and crave the sun, and how big a role it plays on our psyches and holiday habits.
When asked what experiences made them feel they’d escaped the UK, 93% of people put the sun at the top of their list. Second on the list was being abroad by the sea.
87% of respondents claimed the weather is a key or large factor when choosing a holiday destination and 86% like to take a winter break so as to relax and unwind.
A foreign holiday is truly the best way to banish the Winter blues with 79% of those Thomson customers across the UK that have taken a winter holiday in the last five years, confirming that the break had lifted their spirits.
Regional findings from the research include:
- People in Yorkshire & South West feel the most depressed in winter (64%)
- People in the North East & Yorkshire feel the happiest when the sun is shining (64%)
- One in two Scots are less likely to exercise in winter
-More people in the South West eat carbohydrates to curb their winter blues than anywhere else (50%)
With the hike in VAT, another severe winter followed by the prospect of a third successive wet British summer, there’s never been a better time to escape the UK for some uplifting winter sun.
Tagged in Health