The Real Reason Women Feel Sadder Than Men In Winter, According To Science
Why women want to hide under the covers waiting for spring.
Preston Lane | Unsplash It's somewhere around mid-August that our tolerance for the summer checks out. We're done with the sweating, totally over the swamp butt, and with sky-high electric bills from all that air conditioning, we come together and collectively give the season the middle finger. Then, without missing a beat, we demand that winter quit its lollygagging and get here already.
But, when you're n the middle of winter, how much would you pay for those dog days of summer where you left your swamp butt imprint on every subway seat in town? Probably a lot, because, man, those winter blues are totally killing every ounce of sanity and happiness we have left. This is especially true for women.
The real reason women feel sadder than men in winter, according to science
A new study has found that when it comes to seasonal affective disorder (SAD), it's women who really suffer the most. Ladies are up to 50 percent more likely to get down in the dumps this time of year than men, with 44 percent of women admitting that getting out of bed in the winter is a near-impossible feat. Only 30 percent of men wanted to hide under their covers until spring.
Women also deal with this sadness in different ways than men do. When it came to coping with all this dreariness, 33 percent of women turned to food to make everything feel better, because, as we all know, nothing says, "I'm totally ecstatic now!" like an entire pizza, according to me.
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Also, 37 percent of women said that motivation just wasn't happening in the winter months either. However, my belief is that a slice of pepperoni is really all the motivation anyone needs, so I'm not really sure who this study's participants were. But, because realistically a human being can't sustain on pizza alone, according to my therapist, the need to find out why women struggle with SAD is something worth noting.
The reason? Simply, we're particularly sensitive to clinical changes, be it seasonal, biological, or hormonal. We may come off as excessively awesome, but our biology makes us a sensitive bunch that just might need an extra pizza, er, hug or compliment this time of year.
Ways in which women can make themselves feel a bit less miserable and a bit more perky during these drab months, aside from giving into the inevitable craving for sugar and carbs (yes, the winter months make us crave these things, says science), is, first of all, getting out of bed every morning.
Next, getting some sun and exercise will truly do your body and brain right, and some "nesting," as in choosing a happy place in your home or working on making your apartment the ideal place to binge-watch Netflix, is really going to pummel that frown right into the ground. Personally, I'm already feeling better just at the thought — the thought of Netflix, that is.
Amanda Chatel has been a wellness and relationship journalist for over a decade. Her work has been featured in Glamour, Shape, Self, and other outlets.
