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Bears hibernate, insects do it — and so do we. As the days grow shorter and the temperature drops, the natural human response is to withdraw by sleeping longer, gaining weight, and slowing down all mental and physical activity. For many of us the cold brings depression, irritability, an intense craving for carbohydrates, chronic fatigue, and a loss of interest in work and sex.

Everyone suffers from the Hibernation Response to some degree, and at least one quarter of the population is afflicted with seasonal affective disorder (SAD), an acute form of winter depression identified by the National Institute of Mental Health in 1980. Such seasonal variations in behavior are natural, but now — thanks to this book — you can learn how to survive the winter happily.

Dr. Peter Whybrow, chairman of the psychiatry department at the University of Pennsylvania and one of the world’s leading authorities on the effect of the seasons on our bodies and minds, explains exactly what the Hibernation Response is, how and why it influences our moods and capabilities, and what you can do to avoid those awful February blahs. He and science writer Robert Bahr provide specific advice on how you can effectively combat a downturn in mood, a decrease in energy, and the desire to sleep. Keep your weight under control with the Hibernator’s Diet. Design an eternal Spring room in your home to provide a sunny environment even in the dead of winter. Build up a stronger tolerance for the cold. Discover your own body rhythms and learn how to take full advantage of your sexual, intellectual, and creative peaks. Sleep less, and yet awaken more refreshed.

Peter Whybrow, M.D., is a psychiatrist who has been studying our psychological and hormonal responses to the cold, a subject that first captured his attention during the dark English winters of his childhood. He is now chairman of the department of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania and the author of three previous books.

Robert Bahr has written nine books and over five hundred articles on health and medicine for such magazines as Playboy, Science Digest, Sports Illustrated, and TV Guide.

The Hibernation Response is their first collaboration.