Are winter decisions worse than summer decisions? In conversations with our clients, we hear time and time again that decision-makers feel it is much easier to reach important decisions in the warmer months of the year than in tWhen do you make better decisions: in winter or in summer? This is a highly interesting thesis, which we have investigated:
It depends…
There is no scientific evidence that decisions are fundamentally worse in winter than in summer. It depends on many individual factors, such as personal mood, stress level or physical condition.
In medicine, we observe how the body and especially its messenger substances adjust to the different seasons: Researchers in the so-called Babydiet study searched gene databases of about 16,000 donors for this purpose to understand whether the activity of certain genes follows seasonal patterns in addition to circadian rhythms. They found that more than 4,000 of the genes studied operate seasonally.
So seasonal genetically caused qualitative differences in decisions after all? No, this cannot be scientifically proven. This is because genes of the immune system and lipid metabolism are mainly affected. This seasonal regulation may lead to people producing greater amounts of inflammatory proteins on average in winter, which may serve to increase immune potential and enable a faster response to colds.
The researchers conclude from their findings that the average European’s body responds proactively to the increased risk of colds during the cold season, rather than simply reacting to infections when they occur. This mechanism could potentially be used to develop better vaccination campaigns, as the seasonal regulation of the immune system could mean that vaccinations might have a better effect in winter. However, it is important to note that this study only provides an average for Europeans and that there may be individual differences. (Source: https://www.spektrum.de/news/menschen-haben-sommer-und-wintergene/1345906).
Thus, medicine does not provide evidence. Let’s look at external influences and mood: of course, the weather can have an impact on our mood and behavior. In the winter months, it is often darker and colder, which can lead to a depressed mood and fatigue in some people. This, in turn, can have an impact on our ability to make decisions. On the other hand, summer heat can also affect us by making us tired and lethargic, or possibly even making us more aggressive.
Ultimately, the quality of our decisions depends on many factors that can vary from individual to individual and are not solely dependent on the weather.
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