Spring Fever, Cabin Fever

You made it through the month of March without being as “mad as a March hare” but there there is April, May and most of June to survive before summer, so spring fever is still a possibility.

“Spring Fever” is an interesting term for a phenomenon or perhaps a pseudo-illness. The term seems to have entered English in the mid-1800s. Linguistically, it is interesting because it has two meanings which are opposites. There is the term contronym to describe words that are also antonyms. Examples include words such as cleave which can mean “to cling” or “to split”, and the verb “to dust” which can mean to remove dust (cleaning a house) or to add dust (dust a cake with powdered sugar).

Similarly, “spring fever” means a sluggishness, apathy or inertia at this time after winter OR a renewed energy and freedom at the opportunity to get outside and be active again. 

The negative feeling is related to the dormancy, like a hibernating animal, that occurs for many of us in colder climates during winter. Like a bear coming out of hibernation, we are slow to get moving.

The more positive meaning applied to this seasonal change is experiencing new-found energy after being confined mostly indoors for a few months. Time to start that spring cleaning, get back to exercising, start working on outdoor projects, and get into the Sun.

It’s not a real disease or fever, but historians think the American colonists coined the term to refer to the weakness, fatigue, and irritability many felt after a long winter without fresh fruits or vegetables. These symptoms could be quite real but were probably signs of the very real disease scurvy which also plagued sailor on long voyages. Scurvy is a disease resulting from a lack of vitamin C. Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, fatigue, and sore arms and legs and without treatment, causes decreased red blood cells, gum disease, changes to hair, and bleeding from the skin.

“Cabin fever” is phrase we started using in the early 1900s for a kind of claustrophobic reaction we have to be “trapped” inside with less to keep us busy and no access to nature for an extended period. I love cabins, so the thought of being in one seems quite pleasant to me, but that might change if I was snowed in for a month. You could get cabin fever in an isolated cabin in the woods, but it can happen in a home in the suburbs or a city apartment too. Ever notice how crowded your local park is on those first really warm and sunny spring days?

In German, they have the difficult-to-pronounce term frühjahrsmüdigkeit which is literally translated as “spring tiredness”, so this is not a purely American phenomenon. The German version is on the negative side. It means a temporary mood characterized by low energy levels.

Is there any science to all this? Though the diagnosis of “spring fever” or “cabin fever” probably doesn’t appear in any manual with a code for your insurance coverage, there are things that can cause all the symptoms. The cause most often noted is hormone imbalance.  One hormone that increases our happiness is serotonin, whose production depends on daylight, so the level may be lowered over the winter. Serotonin is the basis for many anti-depressant medications. The lowered serotonin might also allow melatonin, a hormone related to sleep,  to have its way with us. The longer days of spring and summer allow more endorphin, testosterone, and estrogen to be released.  It has also been suggested that this seasonal readjustment of hormones stresses our bodies and we react with a feeling of tiredness.

The cure or prevention is getting outside, being active, and getting some sunlight (a half hour is enough to help). Avoid taking any melatonin tablets for a while.  Eat less food and, as those hormones adjust, increase vitamins and proteins. Look at the cures for seasonal affective disorder and get happy.