A Swiss study debunks the widespread notion of spring fatigue as a myth. Researchers from the University of Basel and Inselspital Bern found no evidence of increased tiredness in spring in a year-long survey of 418 people.
Basel/Bern. Many people report exhaustion in spring, known as spring fatigue or Frühjahrsmüdigkeit. A study by Christine Blume from the University of Basel and Albrecht Vorster from Inselspital Bern, published in the Journal of Sleep Research, concludes: The phenomenon lacks empirical evidence in the German-speaking world. It acts as a self-fulfilling prophecy due to the established term, the authors write. 47 percent of respondents felt affected, but detailed reports on sleep and tiredness every six weeks over a year from April 2024 among 418 participants showed no confirmation. „We found no empirical evidence for the phenomenon,“ says Blume. Neither exhaustion, daytime sleepiness, nor poorer sleep quality rose in spring, regardless of lengthening days. Common explanations like dropping blood pressure from warmth or melatonin excess were dismissed by Blume as chronobiologically implausible: „There is no kind of melatonin surplus at the end of winter.“ Instead, psychologists attribute the belief to labeling effect, Nocebo effect, or cognitive dissonance reduction. Outside German-speaking areas, the term is unknown; in English, „spring fever“ denotes increased vitality. Blume got the study idea from journalistic inquiries.