Sunlight and warm temperatures finally reached the Hill last week, and the Tufts campus has finally begun to look more like the vibrant, active community displayed in the admissions booklets.
In the spring students throw Frisbees on the quad - they picnic with friends on the President's Lawn and enjoy intimate, casual seminars on green lawns under oak trees. A new mood permeates the air, one that is high-spirited, celebratory and contagious. In the spring, Jumbos get happy.
How is it that the seasonal change can inspire such noticeable lifts in mood and energy levels? According to Psychiatric Clinical Nurse Specialist Susan Mahoney of Tufts' Counseling and Mental Health Service (CMHS), seasonal mood changes are thought to be linked to sunlight exposure.
"Sunlight may have an effect on chemicals related to depression," she said, citing melatonin and serotonin as chemicals likely to be involved. "But it's not fully understood."
Clinicians diagnose seasonal mood change in its most intense form as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a condition characterized by depressive symptoms in the winter and full recovery in the late spring and summer, Mahoney said. During the depressive period, symptoms include reduced energy, fatigue, social withdrawal and food cravings, especially for sweets and carbohydrates.
To be diagnosed with SAD, a client must have experienced seasonal mood change for an extended period of time.
"We want to know that there's been that cyclical seasonal pattern for at least two years," Mahoney said. Individuals who experience only a milder depression in the spring and summer, without full recovery, are not candidates for the diagnosis.
A common treatment for SAD is light therapy, in which the affected individual sits in front of a "light box" for 30 minutes each morning, Mahoney said.
The light box, which simulates natural sunlight, is intended to compensate for the shorter periods of light during the winter months. In addition to light treatment, clinicians often prescribe anti-depressant medication, as well as counseling services.
While CMHS is not in less demand during the spring than it is during the winter, Mahoney does notice a difference in terms of students' needs.
"Depression occurs at all times during the year, but we definitely see variations in people's concerns at different times of the year," she said. Mahoney cited anxiety related to graduation and transition in general as especially common toward the end of the school year.
Freshman Cantwell Muckenfuss was recommended for light therapy the winter of his junior year in high school, a time when he was under a high amount of stress, he said. Muckenfuss said he was pleased with the effects of the light box.
"Using it was definitely a positive experience," he said. "It helps so much with energy, and waking up and feeling ready to go. It helped me to finish out the year with much less stress and feeling much better about myself."
While Muckenfuss has not used a light box since, he said he finds comfort in the mere knowledge of its availability as a viable option.
"If I ever felt [depressive symptoms] again, I know I have the light box to turn to," he said.
Freshman Jackie Garlock also used a light box in high school. In response to her distress at having to wake up when it was still dark, Garlock found a creative way to incorporate light therapy into her day.
"It was on a timer with my alarm clock," she said. "It wasn't like I sat in front of it for 20 minutes. When I got up, it would just be on."
Like Muckenfuss, Garlock expressed satisfaction with the treatment. "I was less likely to be sluggish, I was more active, and I was ready to go," she said of the treatment's effects on her energy levels.
According to Mahoney, lower-intensity seasonal mood swings are widespread and do not warrant the use of a light box during the winter season.
"Getting out for a walk, getting exercise, trying to maintain a structured schedule, trying to get up at a regular time, getting outside during the sunlight hours, getting out with friends - that can help you deal with stress," she said.
Freshman Emily Japlon could relate to a general improvement in mood during the spring and summer.
"I love being in the sun," she said. "I feel happier, I feel better about myself in general, and I'm in a better mood. When it starts to be winter and gets dark at 4 p.m., it's hard for me to feel as energetic and happy as I usually do."
Japlon's winter blues were particularly pronounced in high school, when her before- and after-school swim schedule drastically reduced her exposure time to the sun.
"It was especially a problem in high school when I would leave for swim practice at 5 a.m. and then not go outside until 6 p.m. at night, and not see any daylight," she said.
Sophomore Andre Loli agreed that the seasons have a significant impact on mood and liveliness.
"During the winter I feel like I have less energy," he said. "I end up staying inside more, and it takes a lot of willpower to go to the gym. In the spring, I go to the gym and I go into the city a lot more. I feel rejuvenated."
Hailing from Miami, Fla., Loli was unaware of the weather's powerful effects on mood until he experienced seasonal change for the first time in Boston.
"I didn't realize that I was affected by the weather until spring came and I felt like I had more energy," he said. "When I got back [to Miami] over winter break, I felt like a million bucks."
Muckenfuss agreed that the depressing effects of winter become most pronounced when compared with the rejuvenating effects of spring.
"I notice the winter depression more based on how much better I feel in the spring," he said. "Looking back on the winter, I can see how low-energy and sad I was compared with how high-spirited and happy I am now."
For Muckenfuss, the general change in the campus environment serves to propagate high spirits. "There are more people outside, more people being active," he said. "Everyone seems happy about the coming of spring."
