Content provided by British Council
Read the following text and answer the quiz below.
[1] Many people in Europe believe they suffer from something they call “spring fatigue”. New research from Switzerland has found that this does not describe a real phenomenon; instead, it only makes people pay more attention to their pre-existing tiredness.
[2] In the study, many participants reported experiencing spring tiredness. However, detailed questioning of hundreds of people over the course of a year did not indicate this. “That should have shown up in the survey data analysis,” said study leader Christine Blume of the University of Basel.
[3] According to their findings, the much-cited phenomenon is a myth, Blume and sleep researcher Albrecht Vorster of Inselspital Bern wrote in the Journal of Sleep Research. The study argues that the phrase is so powerful because it is so firmly established, amounting to a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy.
[4] Blume, a psychologist who researches at the Centre for Chronobiology, said she had the idea for the study because journalists regularly contacted her at the end of winter to explain spring tiredness. To address the question, Blume and Vorster launched an online survey two years ago. From April 2024, 418 people provided information on their sleep quality and tiredness levels every six weeks for a year.
[5] While 47 per cent said they were affected by spring tiredness, the individual surveys over the course of the year did not confirm this. There were no signs of increased exhaustion, greater daytime sleepiness or lower sleep quality in that season.
[6] “In spring, the days get longer quickly,” Blume said. “If spring tiredness were a real biological phenomenon, this transition phase is exactly when it should show up, for example, because the body has to adapt.” But in the data, the speed at which the length of the day changed played no role in participants’ tiredness.
[7] So, where does this belief come from? One suspicion is that the spread of the myth alone might make people more receptive to such a perception. Psychologists call this a labelling effect. For example, people say that wine tastes better when they are told it is expensive.
[8] Physicians speak of a nocebo effect – the confirmation of a negative expectation, similar to the placebo effect, in which a positive expectation shapes perception. A further psychological explanation is the so-called reduction of cognitive dissonance: as the dark, cold season ends, we feel the urge to make use of warmer temperatures and better weather – for jogging, outings and social plans. If the necessary surge of energy fails to appear, spring tiredness offers a comforting explanation, especially when others around you confirm it.
[9] Perhaps the most significant indication that the phenomenon is a myth is that the concept of spring fatigue, while routinely mentioned in parts of Europe, is entirely unheard of elsewhere. In the English-speaking world, by contrast, “spring fever” is the phrase more commonly associated with this season – suggesting not exhaustion, but increased vitality and energy.
Source: dpa, March 9
