The sun is a source of happiness and a symbol of hope for many. It signals the dawn of a new day and encourages people to go out and work. The sun is such a natural phenomenon that it is almost impossible for anyone to think that it won’t rise.
However, there is indeed a place on earth where the sun is not a friend of. In the town of Tromsø in Norway, there is what is called a “Polar Night” which lasts all winter.
One would expect that people in this town would be all grumpy and depressed as a result of the lack of sunlight. However, the reverse is the case as seasonal depression is remarkably low and the people are very happy.
Located over 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle, Tromsø, Norway, is home to extreme light variation between seasons. During the Polar Night, which lasts from November to January, the sun doesn’t rise at all.
Then the days get progressively longer until the Midnight Sun period, from May to July, when the sun never sets. After the midnight sun, the days get shorter and shorter again until the Polar Night, and the yearly cycle repeats.
Despite the city’s extreme darkness, past research has shown that residents of Tromsø have lower rates of wintertime depression than would be expected.
While there is some debate among psychologists about the best way to identify and diagnose wintertime depression, one thing seems clear: Residents of northern Norway seem able to avoid much of the suffering that comes with winter compared to other places around the world which have warmer and brighter climate.
Tromsø is a tiny island, roughly the same size as Manhattan, and is home to approximately 70,000 inhabitants, making it the second-most populated city north of the Arctic Circle.
The town has everything a person could “need”—a mall, three main shopping streets, and a few movie theatres—but nothing extra, Tromsø feels more like a small suburb than a city. Surrounded by mountains and fjords on all sides, it also feels isolated and wild.
