Hungarian researchers have found that the time of year you are born has a significant impact on your temperament and likelihood of developing mood disorders, becoming moody or experiencing drastic mood swings.
The Budapest team examined more than 400 people and characterized each of them based on a personality type compared to the time of their birth.
It has been found that those born in spring actually have a happier temperament than other people.
People born in the summer seemed to be the most positive participants, but were also the most likely to suffer from sudden and excessive mood swings.
Those born in the fall were least likely to become depressed, while those born in the winter were the least likely to be irritable.
The results led researchers to conclude that giving birth in the summer significantly increases the likelihood of developing a mood disorder or having extreme tempers.
The study found two types of temperaments, the cyclothymic temperament and the hyperthymic temperament.
Cyclothymia is defined in the study as “characterized by frequent and rapid changes between sad and happy moods.” This is the most representative temperament of those born in summer compared to those born in winter.
Hyperthymic temperament is defined as a “tendency toward excessively positive behavior,” which is more common in those born in spring and summer.
Lead researcher and assistant professor Xenia Gonda said:
“Biochemical studies have shown that the time of year you are born has an influence on certain monoamine neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin that is also detectable in adulthood.
This led us to suspect that date of birth may have a longer-lasting effect.
Why do these connections exist and yet remain unknown?
Professor Gonda added that future studies will investigate whether people born in certain seasons have biological characteristics that could explain their typical moods.