The spring months mark the beginning of “uncuffing season” - the time of year when relationships formed during the cold lonely winter months come to an end.

Urban Dictionary defines "uncuffing season" as: “Usually during the spring and summer months when people who were previously in relationships during the winter break-up with their girlfriend or boyfriend to be free for the summer and warm months so you can play the field and not be tied down.”

The phenomenon is apparently the antithesis of cuffing season - the time of year people enter into relationships as a way of staving off the boredom and depression that comes with winter.

According to psychologist and social worker Dr Danielle Forshee, the decrease in sunlight during the winter months and the increase during summer has something to do with the increase in warm-weather break-ups.

She told Cosmopolitan that cuffing season occurs because “There’s a decrease in sunlight, and the body is producing more melatonin, a hormone that responds to darkness and makes you tired, and producing less serotonin, the neurotransmitter that makes us feel happy and good.”

But “as the sunlight comes out more, the brain produces less melatonin and more serotonin, making you feel happier, you may not feel such a need to be around someone else to provide that sense of security and happiness,” she said.

So while you may break up, the good news is that come spring, new beginnings are on the horizon - as the warmer weather brings an increased desire to go outside.

More time outside spent in the sunshine means meeting new people, socialising more, and overall becoming happier.

And uncuffing season isn’t just a coincidence - Facebook data also backed up the claims, with a 2010 analysis finding statuses with the phrases “breakup” and “broken up” spike in the weeks leading up to spring break.

Just as flowers bloom in the spring, so too do new relationships - which by August have transformed into full-blown summer flings.

The Independent

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