Every Cloud Really DOES Have a Silver Lining: Scientists Find Gloomy Days Are Good for Brain

Next time you find yourself drenched in an unexpected downpour, look on the bright side – it’ll be a memorable experience.

While wet weather may make us feel gloomy, it sharpens the memory and improves our recall, psychologists say.

But those who feel in a good mood because it’s a sunny day are able to remember less well, according to memory tests carried out by Australian researchers.

Professor Joe Forgas, who led the research, said: ‘It seems counter-intuitive but a little bit of sadness is a good thing.

‘People performed much better on our memory test when the weather was unpleasant and they were in a slightly negative mood. On bright sunny days, when they were more likely to be happy and carefree, they flunked it.’

The tests were carried out on shoppers at a store in Sydney, where researchers randomly placed ten small ornamental objects on the check-out counter.

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April 20, 2009