Y ou can feel it in the air, the snap when you step outside that — in the absence of a warm hand to hold — sends you scurrying back inside for gloves. Cuffing season is coming. You know, the run-up to winter when previously contented single people start seeking shelter in the cosiness of a committed relationship — at least until the weather heats up again. So goes the meme, anyway. It could be a short sentence. Both are correct. Like much digital culture, cuffing season exists mostly in name after being coined as a joke, then cemented in endless explanations online — but its sheer endurance reflects a central truth.
According to Google Trends , the term has climbed steadily from , with sharp spikes in late October or early November. In this case: that it can suck to be single in winter. People tend to socialise less, meaning more nights spent at home alone for many.
Shorter days can exacerbate feelings of loneliness or depression, and can bring on Seasonal Affective Disorder. In the first 10 days of October, there were some 60, references to cuffing season on social media.
But it may feel harder to celebrate singledom in the colder, darker months. From an evolutionary perspective, we have sought warmth from others to aid in our survival. In the UK, Office for National Statistics analysis from showed that more babies were conceived in the Christmas period than at any other time of the year.
Serotonin can sometimes decrease in winter, notes Cohen, lowering mood ; becoming romantically involved with someone is one way of boosting it. The external pressures are more obvious.
