Do Weather Changes Affect You Too?

Remember when your grandmother told you that a storm was coming because she could “feel it in her bones”? Maybe he was more right than you thought. The changes in barometric pressure that accompany storms and changes in weather patterns do affect the body, and some people are more sensitive to these effects than others.

Squalls and headaches

There are quite a few people who experience symptoms when the barometric pressure changes. Dr. Matthew Fink, chief neurologist at New York Presbyterian Hospital, explains that low barometric pressure (associated with storms) can cause headaches or migraines by creating a pressure difference between the atmosphere and the cranial sinuses, which are cavities and therefore they are filled with air.

The problem is exacerbated when the sinuses are engorged or blocked for any reason. In a study published in the journal Internal Medicine, researchers asked migraine patients to keep a headache diary for one year.

After comparing these diaries with the barometric pressure changes observed at the nearby weather station, they found a direct correlation between the lower atmospheric pressure and the onset and duration of migraines.

Joint temperature, pressure and pain

Researchers at Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston surveyed 200 patients with knee osteoarthritis and found a link between changes in barometric pressure, room temperature, and changes in the severity of knee pain.

It is not clear why a drop in the barometer exacerbates pain in joints affected by osteoarthritis or arthritis. It could be that barometric pressure affects the viscosity of the fluid that lines the joint sacs, or it could be that it triggers pain responses in the nerve endings of the joint.

Blood pressure

As the name suggests, our blood circulates through the body using a pressure system created by the heart. So it makes sense that this pressure is affected by the pressure in the air around us.

According to biometeorologist Jennifer Vanos, when barometric pressure drops, so does blood pressure. For some, this can mean a feeling of dizziness or even blurred vision.

On the other hand, blood pressure is generally higher in winter, when the colder temperature causes blood vessels to narrow. This is when more pressure is needed to push blood through the smaller veins and arteries.

As Dr. Sheldon G. Sheps of the Mayo Clinic explains: “The body and blood vessels can react to sudden changes in humidity, atmospheric pressure, cloudiness or wind in the same way that they react to cold.”

These weather-related variations in blood pressure are more common in people 65 and older.

For naturopathic medicine, exposing oneself in moderation to changes in the weather allows the body to learn to adapt and even take advantage of that stimulus. In fact, hydrotherapy that uses water as a vehicle for cold or heat, or the sauna, are based on this principle.