Kari Leibowitz has a PhD in social psychology from Stanford University, where she studied the role of our mindset on our health and well-being. For the past 10 years, Leibowitz has been investigating people’s attitudes towards winter and the ways in which they can powerfully influence our mood and behavior – research that culminated in her debut book, How to Winterize: Use your mindset to thrive in cold, dark Or hard times.
If a Fulbright Scholaryou moved from Atlanta to the University of Tromsø in Norway. The polar night there lasts almost two months. How did that experience inform your view of winter?
I was looking for a research project, and I started writing to Joar Vittersø, who is one of the world’s leading experts on human happiness and well-being. He told me that he was at the world’s northernmost university, and I thought: how does the world expert on human happiness live in this place where the sun doesn’t rise for two months every winter?
I assumed that winter was bad for mental health, and that the people living in Tromsø would be depressed, but I found that they have relatively low rates of seasonal affective disorder (sad) given how far north they are and how dark and long their winters are.
How then does the appearance of Sad vary by location?
The latitude hypothesis states that as you get further north or south of the equator and the winters get longer and darker, the rate of seasonal affective disorder should increase. This hypothesis was reverse engineered by psychologists who found it light lamps were an effective treatment for Sad: they assumed that if light treated this disorder, then darkness must aggravate it. There was evidence that, within the United Statespeople in the north have higher prices from Sad. However, by the time I did my project, many other researchers had done so began to question this idea.
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You looked at the role of mindset in people’s well-being during the winter. What are the beliefs behind the different mindsets you studied, and how might they affect people’s susceptibility to winter depression?
Mindsets are our core assumptions about the way the world works and how different things will affect us. We can have a mindset that stress is either reinforcing or debilitating, for example—and the research suggests that it is can shape the way we deal with challenges.
Similarly, we can have a mindset that winter is restrictive or that it is full of opportunity, terrible or wonderful. We conflate the objective circumstances – that winter is cold, dark and wet – with subjective things, such as being bleak, boring and depressing, when you could just as easily make the case that it is cosy, magical and restorative.
In you subsequent studyyou showed it people’s mindset correlates with well-being during the winter months. Surprisingly, you’ve even found that the further north you go, the more positive people’s attitudes towards winter are, with those in Svalbard with the rosiest views of allwhich apparently protected them from the winter depression. How can we cultivate those attitudes?
The first step is to appreciate winter for what it is, without wishing it was something else, and then trying to see the things that are enjoyable about it. For example, we can complain that we have less energy, but we can turn it on its head and say that winter is a time to do less and rest more. You can also reframe your narrative about the weather. If it’s raining, your commute to work may be more uncomfortable, but you may also find that this weather is especially suitable for indoor and creative tasks. Some research suggests that darkness increases creativity. Which one of those things you focus on is going to have a big influence on how you experience the rain that day. These things may seem small or silly at first, but they lead you to notice different things about winter.
Many people are afraid of changing the clocks. How can we make it more bearable?
The sudden shift is difficult for many people, but there are two things we can do. One is to prepare and anticipate the change. You can be realistic about the fact that you will be more tired, and plan to do a little less and have some downtime. The second is to celebrate and elevate it. You can break out the candles and have the first dinner by candlelight or have a cozy movie night at home. Do something you can look forward to that takes advantage of the darkness and turns it into an asset, as if you welcome it.
It reminds me of research on the “new start effect“ – the idea that we can use different events to mark a new “chapter” in our liveswith different behaviors and habits.
Just by doing that little bit of intention setting, people can really show how much power they have to change their experience of winter and of the darkness. You get real-time feedback on the effects of your actions, which is so powerful.
This brings us to your second strategy: “to make the winter special”. What are your tips?
Ask yourself what activities you can do that will cheer up the winter. It could be eating different foods – like soup – that you can look forward to in the same way that you might feel excited by a barbecue. It could be cold water swimming, visiting a sauna or doing a Friday movie night. Winter is a good time for indoor hobbies: making music, baking, writing poetry or going to a museum. I’m an amateur potter, and it’s hard for me to get to the pottery studio when it’s nice outside. But in the winter I can do a lot more of it. Making winter special takes a little effort, but so do summer activities like going to the beach—and we can apply the same energy in any season.
One thing I noticed while traveling was that every culture does things to embrace winter, but you have to look for it. The UK is the perfect example. It doesn’t have a reputation as a winter destination like Scandinavia, where you might go hygge. But if I go to a London pub on a rainy day, and there’s an open fire in the hearth, and I can order a meat pie and a mulled wine – what’s cozier than that?
Finally, you advise people to go outside – a strategy that the Norwegians describe as friluftsliv. Why is this important?
It’s the hardest sell, but it’s something I see in every winter community where people embrace and enjoy winter. Move our bodies, be close to nature and breathing fresh air – these are all natural antidepressants, and an antidote to experiencing the “winter blues”.
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How to Winterize: Use your mindset to thrive in cold, dark, or difficult times by Kari Leibowitz is published by Bluebird (£18.99). To the Guardian and Observer order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply
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David Robson is the author of The Laws of Connection: 13 Social Strategies That Will Transform Your Lifepublished by Canongate (£18.99). To the Guardian and Observerorder your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply
