“B'oxen of light' are being used to help people struggling with winter blues while living in one of Scotland's darkest communities, as part of a wider research initiative to support more than a million people suffering from seasonal affective disorder all over Britain.
Orkney residents have been able to borrow a winter well from their library since the clock returned in October, and the sets have already proven “super popular”, according to Sue House, assistant librarian at Orkney Library – the oldest public library on the island. Scotland and coincidentally became an online sensation thanks to his wacky social media presence.
“With only six hours of daylight in winter, there's a growing awareness that there are some really helpful things you can do for yourself,” says House, who explains the box's components – a therapy lamp to help counteract the negative effects of low light levels on mental health, and a guide with tips on simple indoor and outdoor activities to develop a new winter routine, as well as access to free online resources.
House especially likes the sky frame that comes with it: “You hold it up to the clouds and it helps you focus on the available light.”
Sunset is expected at 3.30pm on the day Erika Copland, communications officer for Orkney GPs, speaks to the Guardian. She said while Orkney sees more daylight during the summer months, winter brings grey, wet and unpleasant weather. “It's like being enveloped in darkness, especially when the rain is knocking on the window. You don't want to go outside and it ruins your mood.”
There is a waiting list for boxes, which are also available in more remote areas from the mobile library van known locally as Booky McBookface. “A lot of how things are going in Orkney is spread by word of mouth, so we hope more people will hear about it and be able to get through the winter better,” Copeland says.
The development of the winter well boxes is part of the UKRI-funded research project Living with Sadness, led by Professor Hester Parr from the University of Glasgow. It follows a successful pilot further south at East Dunbartonshire Libraries last year.
Feedback from those who borrowed the box was overwhelming: people felt more empowered to start their day thanks to the kit, and more than half changed their daily routine to include walks during daylight hours and spent more time noticing seasonal changes in nature and the skies above them. Staff noted that Winter Well users were also excited about the library's other features.
Sadness is a historically contested condition, Parr says. It was given its own diagnostic category in 1987, which was later removed, with ongoing critical debate about whether it exists on its own or as a subset of depression.
But beyond that, there is a clear public recognition of how winter light affects people, she says. “The public absolutely understands this experience and understands what it means: obviously we are all affected by light.”
Light boxes are specifically designed so that people “don't just passively receive light, but interact with it creatively,” Parr adds, arguing that overcoming sadness “depends on the attitude that comes with breadth.”
“People in Scandinavian countries tend to relate to winter differently because they have had to accept winter light and their relationship with the seasons.”
Ultimately, Parr would like to see these light boxes in every public library, given that these buildings can be important centers of health and wellness, especially in rural areas. “We plan to take over the world,” she says cheerfully.
