The winter-over syndrome is a condition that occurs in individuals who "winter-over" throughout the Antarctic (or Arctic) winter, which can last seven to eight months. It has been observed in inhabitants of

research stations in Antarctica Multiple governments have set up permanent research stations in Antarctica and these bases are widely distributed. Unlike the drifting ice stations set up in the Arctic, the research stations of the Antarctic are constructed either on rock or ...

, as well as in polar bases such as

Thule Thule ( grc-gre, Θούλη, Thoúlē; la, Thūlē) is the most northerly location mentioned in ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek and Latin literature, Roman literature and cartography. Modern interpretations have included Orkney, Shet ...

, Alert and

Eureka Eureka (often abbreviated as E!, or Σ!) is an intergovernmental organisation for research and development funding and coordination. Eureka is an open platform for international cooperation in innovation. Organisations and companies applying th ...

. It consists of a variety of behavioral and medical disturbances, including

irritability Irritability (also called as crankiness) is the excitatory ability that living organisms have to respond to changes in their environment. The term is used for both the physiological reaction to stimuli and for the pathological, abnormal or excessi ...

, depression,

insomnia Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder in which people have trouble sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low energy, ...

, absentmindedness, aggressive behavior, and

irritable bowel syndrome Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a "disorder of gut-brain interaction" characterized by a group of symptoms that commonly include abdominal pain and or abdominal bloating and changes in the consistency of bowel movements. These symptoms may ...

Contributing factors

The Antarctic winter is a period of no physical contact with other continents or Antarctic stations, including no airplanes, ships, or mail. The area has the driest desert climate on Earth, and a low air pressure and oxygen-poor atmosphere. It is completely cut off during winter, the mean temperature is , and the lowest recorded temperature is . For these reasons, the immobility, monotony, harsh physical environment, sexual deprivation, and the general isolation, are believed to contribute to increased anxiety and depression among the residents of the station. Several studies have been done over the years to determine the contributing causes, or stresses, of "winter-over" syndrome. These include

stress Stress may refer to: Science and medicine * Stress (biology), an organism's response to a stressor such as an environmental condition * Stress (linguistics), relative emphasis or prominence given to a syllable in a word, or to a word in a phrase ...

social isolation Social isolation is a state of complete or near-complete lack of contact between an individual and society. It differs from loneliness, which reflects temporary and involuntary lack of contact with other humans in the world. Social isolation c ...

, subsyndromal seasonal affective disorder and polar T₃ syndrome. It would appear that the cold, danger, and hardships are not major stresses. The most important psychological stresses appear to be: the problem of individual adjustment to the group, the relative monotony of the environment, and the absence of certain accustomed sources of emotional satisfaction. In addition to isolation from the outside world, there is confinement or lack of isolation within the research stations themselves. During fieldwork conducted at

McMurdo Vice-Admiral Archibald McMurdo (24 September 1812 – 11 December 1875) was a Scottish naval officer and polar explorer after whom Antarctica's McMurdo Sound, McMurdo Station, McMurdo Ice Shelf, McMurdo Dry Valleys and McMurdo–South Pole ...

and

South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole, Terrestrial South Pole or 90th Parallel South, is one of the two points where Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on Earth and lies antipod ...

stations in 1988 and 1989, informants complained that the lack of privacy, and constant gossip within the community, had a negative influence on social relationships, especially between men and women. As a result, 60% of one's leisure time is spent alone in a

dorm room A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university s ...

, whereas others are forced to work and live in confined spaces, due to the nature of their work.

Symptoms

While research around the winter-over syndrome dates back to the 1950s, there is no set of exclusive indicators that can typically reveal a diagnosis of the same. "Our analyses of the human experience in Antarctica suggest that there are few, if any, traits that serve as useful predictors of performance during the austral winter," Palinkas wrote in a paper called "The Psychology of Antarctic Research." Some of the symptoms included depression,

, anger or irritability, feelings of

hostility Hostility is seen as form of emotionally charged aggressive behavior. In everyday speech it is more commonly used as a synonym for anger and aggression. It appears in several psychological theories. For instance it is a facet of neuroticism in ...

towards those around you, diminished cognitive performance including difficulty in concentration and memory, absentmindedness, and the occurrence of mild

hypnotic state Hypnosis is a human condition involving focused attention (the selective attention/selective inattention hypothesis, SASI), reduced peripheral awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion.In 2015, the American Psychologica ...

s known as 'long-eye' or the 'Antarctic stare'. Bill Spindler, documenting his extensive research on the

Antarctic The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...

, attributes the effects of sensory deprivation, isolation, and maybe even the effect of extreme cold on the

thyroid gland The thyroid, or thyroid gland, is an endocrine gland in vertebrates. In humans it is in the neck and consists of two connected lobe (anatomy), lobes. The lower two thirds of the lobes are connected by a thin band of Connective tissue, tissue cal ...

which can cause

memory loss Amnesia is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage or disease,Gazzaniga, M., Ivry, R., & Mangun, G. (2009) Cognitive Neuroscience: The biology of the mind. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. but it can also be caused temporarily by the use o ...

, sleepiness or sluggishness.

References

{{reflist Polar exploration Thyroid disease Syndromes Health in Antarctica

Contributing factors

Symptoms

See also

References