spring fever

by John Illman

The old idea that in spring a young man's fancy turns to thoughts of love is not just an old wives' tale. People do mate more in the spring and summer. It might not sound very romantic, but this trend is linked to a hormonal response to a powerful but little recognised aphrodisiac – light.

image to accompany feature
© Getty

Forget about herbs and ginseng. The changing ratios of light and darkness heralding the end of winter and the beginning of spring invariably put the whole animal kingdom into a quiver. The advent of electric lighting did not render us humans immune from this rite of spring.

The third eye

The young man immortalised in the popular saying responds to spring with such relish because of a chain of reactions originating in the pineal gland, the so-called 'third eye' of the brain. Located in the centre of the brain, the pineal has nerve connections to the retina and other parts of the brain. The secretion of a hormone, melatonin, helps to maintain daily and seasonal breeding cycles in animals.

keeping the body clock on time

Darkness acts as a signal to the pineal to start making melatonin and light as a signal to stop. The amount of melatonin in the body at any one time provides a chemical message to the body about the time and season. All this is crucial to animals who have to ensure that their offspring are born at the right time.

Research has shown that in the absence of a pineal gland, animals not only reproduce at the wrong time, but turn up their body thermostats at the wrong time. In his book Winston Churchill's Afternoon Nap, examining the relationship between light and time, Jeremy Campbell reports that in every species studied, melatonin is secreted for the longest time in winter and for the shortest in summer.

spring 'hangovers' threaten SAD sufferers

Spring fever can also have unwanted sexual effects. Most of us are now familiar with the term SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), a severe form of winter blues linked to sun and daylight starvation. SAD is estimated to affect half a million Britons.

In the book, SAD: Seasonal Affective Disorder, Angela Smyth reports that between 70 and 90% of people with SAD experience a surge of mental and physical energy when the days lengthen in the spring. Confidence returns, along with a reduced desire to eat and sleep and an increase in sexual appetite.

This trend is usually welcome and typically brings energy levels back to normal, providing an increased sense of wellbeing. Depression lifts, weight is shed and life returns to normal.

But Angela Smyth explains that in some cases, so-called spring fever is more than an elated mood. It turns to what is known as hypomania, a state of hyperactivity characterised by increased energy, enthusiasm and confidence, leading to impatience and irritability with colleagues and family.

People with hypomania have a tendency to talk and act irrationally. They seek greater excitement in their life and start to perceive things differently from those around them. Inability to sleep, feelings of extravagance and excessive spending are common signs of hypomania.

Angela Smyth adds: 'More serious still is true mania, found in 15 to 20% of SAD sufferers. Manic patients cannot sleep. Their energy is such that they stay awake all night. If left untreated, mania can lead to total and life-threatening exhaustion. Sufferers tend to talk rapidly and sometimes incoherently.

'embarrassing, unexpected promiscuity'

People with SAD are classified as either unipolar or bipolar. The mood of unipolar patients simply goes down in winter and reverts to normal in the spring. In contrast, the mood of bipolar patients moves between the two extremes of depression and mania.

Mood swings of the type found in bipolar depression are also diagnosed in people with manic depression. But there tends to be a key difference between people with classic manic depression and bipolar SAD. The mood swings of someone with manic depression can occur at any time, whereas those of someone with bipolar SAD are restricted to two a year – as the days shorten, as autumn gives way to winter; and as they lengthen, when winter makes way for spring.

'Their increased self-confidence turns to grandiose and unreal self-illusions and ambitions, which can sometimes lead to impractical professional decisions and extravagant financial actions. Heightened sexual energy often leads them to embarrassing and unexpected promiscuity.' (See box for further explanation.)

The Brook family planning organisation, which provides contraceptive and sex advice for young people, said: 'If spring fever gets to you, think ahead. Passions are for a night, but regrets may last forever. Think contraption: emergency contraception is available for 72 hours after unprotected sex for people who get carried away.'

Angela Smyth also advises SAD sufferers against making impulsive decisions to end serious sexual relationships in the spring. She says: 'Wait a month and reassess the situation.'

Her book also warns that sufferers may find that their renewed interest in sex during the spring may be difficult for their partners to understand or accept. His/her feelings may have changed as a lack of contact or affection.

'It is important partners appreciate that sexual appetite is affected by SAD, so that they do not take your lack of interest personally. Discussing how you both feel will help diffuse the tension created in such situations and bring you closer.

help and info

Channel 4 is not responsible for the content of third party sites.

To find out more about manic depression, check out our feature in mind.

organisations

Brook
421 Highgate Studios
53-79 Highgate Road
London NW5 1TL
Helpline: 0800 0185 023 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm)
E-mail: admin@brookcentres.org.uk
Website: www.brook.org.uk
Provides free and confidential sexual health advice and contraception for anyone under 25. The website has tons of useful information including a secure on-line enquiry service and a text messaging service.

FPA
2-12 Pentonville Road
London N1 9FP
Helpline: 0845 310 1334 (Mon-Fri 9am-6pm)
fpa Scotland: 0141 576 5088 (Mon-Thurs 9am-5pm; Fri 9am-4.30pm)
fpa Northern Ireland: 028 90 325 488 (Mon-Thurs 9am-5pm; Fri 9am-4.30pm)
Website: www.fpa.org.uk
The fpa can advise on all sexual health matters, including contraception, abortion and sexual health. A range of factsheets are available to download free from the website. You can also get details of family planning clinics, sexual health clinics and other sexual health services anywhere in the UK.

Seasonal Affective Disorder Association (SADA)
PO Box 989
Steyning BN44 3HG
Website: www.sada.org.uk
Informs the public and health professionals about SAD, and supports and advises sufferers of the illness. It produces a newsletter and other publications, holds meetings, has a network of contacts and local groups, a lightbox hire scheme and raises money for research into SAD. Website has information on symptoms and treatments.

websites

Northern County Psychiatric Associates
www.ncpamd.com/seasonal.htm
Comprehensive information on SAD. Highlights the fact that managing to spend one hour per winter day outside during daylight can be a powerful cure.

Outside In
www.outsidein.co.uk/sadinfo.htm
Information on SAD from a supplier of light therapy products.

Understanding Seasonal Affective Disorder
www.mind.org.uk/Information/Booklets/Understanding/Understanding+seasonal+affective+disorder.htm
This online Mind booklet is a guide to Seasonal Affective Disorder, and describes what it is, who gets it, the causes and treatments available.

What Really Works
www.whatreallyworks.co.uk/start/factsheets.asp?article_ID=452
Factsheet on SAD and natural remedies. Written by Susan Clark, award-winning UK health journalist, author and broadcaster.

reading

	Positive Options for Seasonal Affective Disorder by Fiona Marshall and Peter Cheevers (Hunter House, 2003) Written in an easy, informal style, this sourcebook shows how to cope with and overcome the problem of SAD using a variety of strategies. Get this book

	Winter Blues: Seasonal Affective Disorder. What it is and how to overcome it by Norman Rosenthal (Guilford Publications, 1998) This book on SAD contains details of research and evaluates different treatment options such as light psychotherapy, and herbal and prescription antidepressants. Get this book

	Winston Churchill's Afternoon Nap: Wide Awake Inquiry into the Human Nature of Time by Jeremy Campbell (Paladin, 1989) Explores how our lives are controlled by a variety of inner clocks of which the conscious mind has little knowledge. Get this book (out of print, but might be available second hand)