Dreading a dark winter lockdown? Think like a Norwegian

Studies show people living in the Arctic Circle are armed with a mindset that helps combat the long polar night'. It might come in handy for us all...

When Kari Leibowitz first arrived in the Norwegian city of Tromso, she was both intrigued by, and fearful of, the approaching winter. Two hundred miles north of the Arctic Circle, the city does not see the sun from mid-November to mid-January. It was a far cry from the state of New Jersey, where she had grown up, or Stanford, California, where she had been studying before travelling to Norway.

As a health psychologist, Leibowitz's aim was to understand the ways that Tromso's citizens coped with the long polar night". In many countries, the short days of winter are thought to cause lethargy and low mood, resulting in seasonal affective disorder" (SAD). This is sometimes assumed to have a purely biological basis - levels of mood-regulating neurotransmitters such as serotonin are generally lower in winter than in summer, and last week a study suggested that people with more neurotic personalities are particularly susceptible to low winter moods. SAD is often treated using standard antidepressant drugs, as well as psychotherapies.