In our last episode, we were discussing our winds. As resident bio-meteorologist of the Reecer Creek Rod, Gun, Working Dog & Outdoor Think Tank Benevolent Association, it occurs to me that we might discuss a few of the physical and psychological effects of wind (and other weather) upon us humans
Behavioral studies have shown that, in a hot dry wind, men often become restless; more likely to be aggressive, with an adrenalin rush and mobilization of glucose reserves. Women, on the other hand, generally seek shelter and respond in more passive ways. Some scientists consider this an ancient physiological response to family danger.
With very warm and dry air, discomfort generally relates to electrical ions. In very dry air, particularly with a warm wind, there is often an excess of negative ions. Maybe it’s the loss of positive ions attached to water vapor, or the friction in the air creating more negative ions. At any rate, with a negative ion excess, people become irritable and short‑tempered.
Examples abound. When the hot and dry Santa Ana winds are blowing off the desert, Los Angelinos in increasing numbers (largely men) become argumentative and violent over trivial matters, and auto accidents significantly increase. In late spring of 1971, in Lawrence, Kansas, we had a week of very warm, windy and exceptionally dry weather. In our community study room, grad students squabbled over anything (“Do you HAVE to turn those *!^# pages so $#& loud?”). It was a terrific bio-meteorology lab experiment.
The effects of humidity and air pressure on humans and other lie forms have intrigued us since antiquity. Hippocrates wrote a great deal about “medical geography” (much about humidity and air pressure). Dry conditions with high pressure might lead to phlegmatic conditions improving, dry eyes, protracted fevers and melancholia, while rainy weather (and low pressure) might bring an increase in epilepsy, mortifications and apoplexy. He postulated more diseases in regions of higher humidity, and correlated arthritis with cool humid climates. We know more today, but…
In much of Europe, medical‑meteorological forecasts are broadcast, and available by phone, for planning activities to avoid fatigue, psychic issues and other influences which might make one accident‑prone, or trigger inflammatory diseases. Studies there found rising death rates from circulatory diseases with high air pressure, from cancer during low pressure cycles and higher suicide rates with rapid changes in air pressure. Are we ready for “body weather” forecasts?
In cold weather, we feel colder in high humidity than in very dry air. High humidity apparently decreases the insulative quality of the air. Too, skin is “hygroscopic,” absorbing moisture and expanding, perhaps exposing it more. Hair is hygroscopic, also, expanding and relaxing into its “normal” pattern of curls or straightness in moist air.
In hot air, high humidity represses cooling from perspiration and breathing, and hearts work harder to get blood to the skin’s surface for cooling. Hot moist air often triggers a mild depression (to keep us inactive and in the shade, perhaps). The very young and the very old suffer highest death rates, because their bodies’ cooling mechanisms are not as effective as others.
We speak of fish and wildlife activities and the solunar tables, but humans also respond to air pressure changes. Some experts claim that our bodies are as sensitive to atmospheric pressure as to temperature. Internal liquid pressure rises as air pressure falls, and vice versa – changes that have been tied to levels of alertness. A falling barometer may trigger mildly depressed moods and mental states, and a loss of problem‑solving efficiency. In studies carried out in Philadelphia, high barometric pressures coordinated with admissions for depression, while low air pressures were highly correlated with intoxication.
The all‑time classic pressure experiment took place in September of 1938. Freshmen at Massachusetts State College took a standardized set of tests over three days, during passage of a hurricane. As the hurricane approached (slowly falling pressure) grades were slightly above average. On the second day, during rapidly rising and falling air pressure, scores were 20 percent above the norms. On the third day, with slowly rising pressure, grades were a bit below norms. (I have seen students pray for hurricanes before tests, but I doubt they realized the benefits which might accrue.)
A number of studies have been done with regard to human/weather interactions, and web info abounds. For pleasant spring reads, I have several suggestions, all of which can be found online and for very few dimes. Check out Watching for the Wind: The Seen and Unseen Influences on Local Weather by James G. Edinger, Weather and Health by Helmut E. Landserg, Body Weather by Bruce Palmer, Hippocratic Heritage by Frederick Sargent II, and Weather and Health by Helmut E. Landserg.
Rain, humidity and lightning impact us, too. It’s another conversation, perhaps, down the line.
Happy spring.
