And where it comes from

All tough? What really helps against the “winter blues”

Tired, listless, sad: the lack of light in the cold months also affects our hormone balance.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com/Tatyana Gladskih)

The days are getting shorter, there is much less sunshine - and many people's moods change, culminating in the "winter blues". Not even enough sleep helps those affected to overcome tiredness and the like. But what can help? We asked the expert!

Tiredness, lack of energy and drive as well as a certain sadness can get the better of you in the cold months - and can be signs of the so-called "winter blues": a condition in which people withdraw more, are less socially active and often lose themselves in brooding, says psychiatrist Elisabeth Harmankaya. "It's a phase in which people fall into a certain melancholy due to the darkness and the approaching end of the year," she says.