If Chicagoland has seemed more cloudy than usual compared with previous springs, it’s not your imagination. As a result, Chicagoans may have experienced ‘winter blues’ for an extended period of time.
“We are vulnerable to start to have ‘winter blues’ during the winter months, but some individuals have more severe symptoms that recur regularly during the winter months that may indicate seasonal affective disorder,” said Dr. Sheehan Fisher, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
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Cold temperatures and decreased sunlight can result in decreased motivation and access to stimulating activity and exercise, according to Fisher. If the negative feelings happen at the same time for consecutive years, there is a chance an individual has seasonal affective disorder.
“This spring in Chicago has been consistently cold and has had many gloomy days that can affect the mood of those who are vulnerable to seasonal depression,” Fisher said. “For the population in general, the weather can decrease our motivation to be active, which can cause or exacerbate fatigue symptoms.”
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Fisher said treatments such as light therapy and behavioral psychotherapy are possible solutions that can help alleviate negative feelings associated with dreary weather.
“In general, people should aim to get as much exposure to light as possible in the winter and maintain a regular schedule of activity rather than develop habits of staying in the home or socially isolating,” Fisher said.
Even though Chicago experienced more cloudy days than average, brighter days are ahead, according to forecasters.
“This April was very unusual,” according to Frank Wachowski, a cooperative weather service observer for Midway International Airport.
Wachowski, who retired from the National Weather Service in 1994 after 40 years, said NWS discontinued keeping track of sunlight records when their equipment was automated. However, Wachowski kept the records going.
He said only 34% of possible sunlight occurred in April 2022.
“So it tied for the second-lowest percentage of sunshine on record since the beginning of 1893,” Frank said.
The lowest sunlight percentage since the 1893 mark was 32% in 2011.
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“The normal is 51%,” Wachowski said.
The reverse was in 1942 when there was 76% sunlight in April.
“Now we are in another spell of cloudiness,” Wachowski said. “We are starting May unfortunately on a cloudy note, but hopefully once we get this system out of the way in the next couple of days, we can get into a sunny, nice warm pattern and get back to reality.”
