Iowa is notable for its harsh winters. Expectedly, students can find that these weather changes affect them more than just physically, from changes in sleep patterns to trouble sustaining grades due to sickness. These can all be factors that negatively impact students’ mental well-being.
Student Health and Wellness Violence Prevention Strategy Manager Carrie Giese, shared her experiences with concerns students bring up as the weather gets colder in fall, directly in relation to the difficulty most classes increase in.
“As the days get shorter and nighttime gets longer, students can feel an impact on their mental health,” Giese said. “They may notice changes in sleep habits. They may also notice changes in motivation levels. They may notice a change in things that used to bring them joy aren’t bringing them as much joy anymore.”
Giese shared an often overlooked part of coming to college and leaving family, which often impacts student mental health more as the season changes, namely, changes in regional cultural traditions, which inadvertently impact academic performance.
“Some folks may feel nostalgic for old patterns they did at home,” Giese said. “Some may be new to this region of the United States or even the world. The climate shift may be stressing them out. It can be a negative for their mental health or make them feel overwhelmed with academics.”
Michelle Roling, assistant director of outreach at Student Counseling, shared her expertise on the matter, pointing out statistical data to showcase the issue.
“There are about 25% of college students that would report having ‘winter blues,’ and about 12% of college students would fall into the category of seasonal affective disorder,” Roling said.
Roling categorized the difference between the two major issues, separating them by the severity of symptoms and their effects on students.
“Winter blues has symptoms of it being a little harder to get motivated, just a feeling of mild struggle,” Roling said. “Seasonal affective disorder is a category of depression, and it is earmarked with that loss of energy, inability to get focused and stay on track. It can be a real struggle to get out of.”
Roling pointed out a ‘snowball effect’ when it comes to dealing with issues, especially when it comes to personal relationships and subsequently academic performance.
“One of the things that can compound very quickly is when we start to get behind academically,” Roling said. “Then we start to see anxiety, that fear of catching up. Things start to layer, and it can also become a barrier within relationships. We start hearing a lot of fear about impact on grades, meeting deadlines, trying to wrap a semester up.”
Roling expressed concerns about how some students may cope with these issues, which she feels compound further to make dealing with such issues even harder.
“It can certainly lead to negative coping strategies such as increased use of substances of gambling, which can lead to some more destructive negative coping mechanisms such as self-injury,” Roling said.
Both Roling and Giese shared strategies for students to recognize the issues they face, and understand that there are many sources on campus to seek assistance, ranging from academic support to counseling.
“Within the student services building on the 2nd floor, we have a room called the recharge room,” Roling said. “The primary reason darkness impacts us is that we are not getting enough sunlight. Sitting in front of the light therapy can stimulate some of that for ourselves.”
“We have lots of great academic coaching through Hixson-Lied and the Academic Success Center. Wellbeing coaches, which are housed out of student wellness, help folks get connected to help students determine goals they want to reach,” Giese said.
Giese also mentioned that recognizing changes in one’s own behavior is the first step to seeking the proper resources.
“If you notice any change in your regular pattern, pay attention to that,” Giese said. “Give power to that, and reach out for assistance on that. Self-validation. Pay attention to changes in your own behavior.”