Does the wind really make people bonkers?
Gusty days seem to send kids into overdrive and make grownups feel irritated. What's the reason behind it?
Teachers, parents, and even psychologists say wind has a strange way of stirring things up — literally and emotionally.
While the science is still up in the air, an early childhood teacher is convinced – based on 30 years of experience and speaking to fellow educators – that when the wind whips, the kids whip up too.
Angela Bush, the founder of Australian and New Zealand service ECE Learning Unlimited, recalls a colleague telling her: "They go absolutely bonkers".
Teachers and parents often report kids acting out when the wind rolls in. (file image)
Unsplash / Vitaly Gariev
She reckons it's all about sensory overload.
"From the child's perspective, if they are out in the sandpit, for example, or they're playing with equipment outside and the wind comes along and moves what they're playing with or impacts what they're playing with that can be a source of frustration … or intrigue I suppose.
"It blows their hair in their face, it blows their clothes up in their face, it gets in the way of their hands, it impacts how they're play and experiencing the world."
It doesn't seem to just be a Kiwi thing. A UK study from 1997 asked teachers to rate children's behaviour in various weather conditions and found that they became more restless, irritable, inattentive and impulsive when the barometric pressure (air pressure) was falling.
Can the wind mess with our mood?
Clinical psychologist Melanie Woodfield says little kids who can't yet explain how they're feeling might display their discomfort by acting out physically.
Adults aren't immune either. Strong winds can stir up thoughts or anxieties, especially if we're already stressed (for instance by this week's teacher and hospital strikes), she says.
Massey University clinical psychology professor Kirsty Ross says when it's windy and hard to get around, we get tired faster. Add in travel warnings or having to stay home with kids and work, and parents can feel overwhelmed.
Sensory overload is often overlooked too, she says. When the wind is hitting every part of your body and you're already mentally or physically drained, it doesn't take much to feel grumpy or snappy.
It's easy to become snappy if you're already dealing with a lot. (file image)
Unsplash / Getty Images
What does the science say?
One theory focuses on ions — tiny charged particles in the air which apparently tend to rise before storms or in dry, windy conditions. But scientists have been debating for decades if ions can affect mental health and comfort - and there's little qualitative research.
A small 1981 US study linked positive ions to irritability and fatigue, but a later review of 33 studies found no solid proof that they really change our mood or comfort levels.
On the flip side, UK child development expert Lin Day believes there might be a connection. She writes when the air's negative ion count drops, babies seem to cry more — and some people experience more headaches or allergies when surrounded by materials that create static electricity.
And those bonkers kids? A 2008 Auckland study found that changes in wind speed had little to no clear effect on how active children were.
The study's author, Scott Duncan, told RNZ it might not be the wind itself, but the way it disrupts routines that causes 'wildness' in classrooms. "But in truth, we just don't know."
There is some evidence, though, that certain regional winds are linked to higher distress or hospitalisations among vulnerable people. Still, that's not quite the same as saying wind directly causes people to act out, he says.
A cultural narrative
Ngāi Tahu iwi historically associated the nor'west wind with unease and death, calling it Te Hau Kai Tangata or "the wind that devours humankind", Canterbury University history professor Katie Pickles said in 2014.
While the nor'wester isn’t as dominant as the easterlies, it's still one of the big winds that roll through the region in spring and summer.
"In order to escape the wind, records show Canterbury farm women move inside, close all windows and draw curtains as the nor'wester approaches. The wind has been linked to increases in suicide and domestic violence.
"Some research has also shown that about 10 percent of people feel elated when the nor'westers blow while most other people feel depressed, irritable and lacking energy. People feel they can't cope with everyday things. There is irrational anxiety and a sense of foreboding."
