As the winter of 1981 neared, most of the subjects in Dr. Norman Rosenthal’s study began feeling physically weighed down and emotionally sluggish, the way he predicted they would.
They craved sweets and chocolates and starch-rich foods, though eating “would not be expressed as pleasurable,” but more of a compulsion. Most had a history of seasonal cycles of depression. Their moods would frequently start plummeting between October and December. They would go to sleep earlier, sleep longer and wake later, their energy crashing in late afternoon. Unmotivated, lethargic and depressed, they would hunger for light like moths drawn to porch lamps.