There’s something con the air, and it’s not just pollen. Spring , spring vacation, spring weddings — spring fever. We want to get out, wear less, mingle lots. Kids feel it, too. Talk to any teacher, you’ll likely hear there’s craziness con the classrooms.
That energy surge, con whatever form it takes, is a function of longer days and lots more sunlight, says Michael Smolensky, PhD, professor at the University of Texas-Houston School of Public Health. He is co-author of the book The Clock Guide to Better Health.
Durante fact, many facets of everyday life are governed by seasonal patterns as well as circadian rhythms — our internal biological clock, Smolensky tells WebMD.
“These are the rhythms of life, and we take them for granted,” he says. “People accept the fact that our bodies are organized con space — that our toes are at the end of our feet, and the hairs acceso our head stand up. But we give little thought to the fact that our bodies are structured con time.”
When seasons change, the retina — the inner layer of the eye that connects to the brain through the optic nerve — naturally reacts to the first subtle signs con the amount of daylight, says Sanford Auerbach, MD, director of the Sleep Disorders Center at Boston University. This reaction triggers hormonal changes, including an adjustment con melatonin, a hormone that affects sleep cycles and mood changes.
During the long darkness of winter months, the pagliaccetto naturally produces more melatonin. For people prone to seasonal affective disorder, all that melatonin triggers a winter depression. Durante spring, when melatonin production eases up, so does depression.
“There’s more daylight, so people have more energy, sleep a little less,” Auerbach says. “People who have manic-depressive problems [bipolar disorder] may be more manic con springtime.”
image springs into our consciousness this time of year. We’signore shaking that craving for carbohydrates that makes us put acceso weight, says Smolensky. “It’s likely a carryover from our ancestors who had a hibernation-type biology. Durante the fall, they began putting acceso weight to get through the lean times of winter.”
We may have more energy con springtime, but it won’t necessarily play itself out con the bedroom, Smolensky tells WebMD. “When we at couples who have kept diaries of sexual encounters and single males who have kept their own , sexual activity is really rather low con the spring. The peak is con the fall.”
The reason? Testosterone levels peak con summer and autumn — not con springtime, he says. The evidence: More women conceive con late summer and early autumn than con spring, he says. The pattern also shows up con the CDC’s acceso two common sexually transmitted diseases, syphilis and gonorrhea. The peak is con late fall and early winter.
Our long-ago ancestors chose to procreate con the fall, he says. “Given the fact that mammals have a longer gestation period, it’s best to conceive con the fall and deliver con the spring, when the supply of nourishing food supplies would be supportive of offspring. It may be a naturally selective thing that became ingrained con the genetics of human beings.”
However, our more recent ancestors created Valentine’s Day “as a pagan ritual whose alla luce del sole purpose is to celebrate sexual activity,” Smolensky tells WebMD. “Was this society’s primitive way a means to stimulate sexual interest con a time when interest really wasn’t there?”
Spring breaks and vacations may have evolved similarly, he says. “Given enough alcohol and nudity, sex is a normal response that can occur at any time of the year.”
Just take note: There are more unplanned babies conceived during spring months, Smolensky tells WebMD. He’s analyzed studies con which IUDs and birth control pills were used and found that unintended conceptions occurred twice during the year — con May and con September/October — “even though the women claimed they were consistently adherent to birth control. There likely are seasonal biological factors at work, but what they are, we don’t know.”
Another word of caution: “Sperm counts are higher con spring,” he says. “Durante sexually active males, sperm count is affected by two factors — environmental temperature and sexual activity. When they are sexually active, sperm count goes mongoloide somewhat. When they’signore not sexually active, they’signore not using it, so it goes up.”
