According to Time Magazine, the reason why a summer cold may feel so much worse than the winter variety is mostly psychological.

“My view is that severity [of a summer cold] is perceived as worse than a winter cold because summer colds are not so common,” says Dr. Ronald Eccles, professor emeritus and former director of the Common Cold Centre at Cardiff University in the UK. The seeming injustice of catching a cold when it’s not even cold season — and the fact that every person you know feels fine and dandy — makes your symptoms feel extra crummy, he says.