Winter Blues Abroad: Getting Through Your First Dark Winter

By mid-December in Amsterdam, the sun sets before half past four, and in Berlin the sun sets even earlier. If you grew up somewhere with long, bright winters, or no real winter at all, that can come as a shock. Many people call the flat, low-energy feeling that follows "the winter blues".

This guide explains the winter blues meaning in plain words, why it often hits harder in your first year abroad, and what helps. Expect daylight, routines, people and a few local traditions, not a lecture.

Key Takeaways

The winter blues is an everyday term for feeling flatter and more tired in the dark months.
In the Netherlands and Germany, mid-winter days have under eight hours of daylight.
Getting outside in daylight, especially before noon, is one of the simplest things that helps.
Regular movement, steady sleep times and plans with people keep the season from shrinking your world.
If the low feeling lasts for weeks or starts to shape your days, talking it through with a qualified counselor is a sensible step.

Winter Blues Meaning: What It Is and What It Is Not

So what does "winter blues" mean? It is not a formal term. People use it for the dip in energy and mood that many of us notice when days get short, cold and grey. If that dip is getting in the way of your weeks, BetterHelp offers online psychological counseling by video, phone or chat, so you can talk it through with a qualified counselor from your own sofa.

Is it just in your head? No. Shorter days change how much light you get, and light shapes your energy and your daily rhythm. Here is what the term usually covers.

An Everyday Seasonal Low

Feeling more tired than usual, even after a normal night's sleep.
Wanting to stay in, cancel plans or hide under a blanket by 5 pm.
Finding it harder to get going in the morning while it is still dark outside.

None of this means something is wrong with you. It is a common response to a big change in your surroundings. Your body and mind are adjusting to less light, colder air and a different rhythm of life, often all at once. Giving that adjustment a name is the first step to handling it well.

A Predictable Pattern

It tends to start in late October or November. Under the EU's summer-time rules, clocks go back on the last Sunday of October, and evenings suddenly turn dark an hour earlier.
It usually eases as the days lengthen in February and March.
It often feels strongest in the weeks around the shortest day, 21 December.

Knowing the pattern helps. If you expect a dip, you can plan for it rather than being surprised by it.

A Signal Worth Watching

Sometimes the low feeling is more than a seasonal dip. If it lasts most days for several weeks, or starts to shape your work, studies or friendships, it deserves proper attention.

Notice the trend over weeks, not one bad Sunday.
Tell someone you trust how you have been feeling.
Consider talking to a qualified counselor; BetterHelp matches you with a counselor after a short questionnaire, and you can change counselor if the fit is not right.

Why the Winter Blues Hit Harder Abroad

Plenty of locals feel the winter blues too, but internationals often feel them more in the first year. Why? Because the dark months arrive just as the excitement of the move wears off, and they land on a life that is still half-built.

Shorter Days Than Home

The numbers look stark if you come from further south. Data from the US Naval Observatory shows the sun rising at 08:48 and setting at 16:29 in Amsterdam on 21 December 2026, about 7 hours 41 minutes of daylight. Berlin gets slightly less, with the sun up from 08:15 to 15:54.

In late June, the same Amsterdam day lasts nearly 17 hours.
If you have a lecture or a shift from 9 to 5, you may barely see daylight on weekdays.
Vienna and Zurich sit further south, so their days are a little longer, but still short.

Grey Skies, Few Sunny Hours

Short days are only half of it. Many winter days in the Low Countries and Germany are overcast. The Dutch weather service KNMI recorded just 29 hours of sunshine across the whole of December 2024, against a normal of 58 hours.

In Germany, the national weather service DWD puts the normal December total at around 42 hours of sunshine.
That means many days with no direct sun at all.
Grey light still counts, though; being outside on a cloudy day gives you far more light than being indoors.

No Familiar Rituals

At home, winter may have meant festivals, family meals or a holiday you have always known.
Abroad, those rituals are missing, and the local ones are not yours yet.
That gap can make December feel quieter and lonelier than you expected.

This is one of the least discussed parts of a first year abroad. You can be busy, well settled and happy with your choice, and still feel a pang when the season of your own traditions comes round without them. Naming that feeling helps, and so does building a few new rituals of your own.

A Thinner Social Calendar

In summer, people meet in parks, on terraces and at festivals. In winter, social life moves indoors and into homes, which can be harder to break into when you are new. Building a social circle takes longer in the dark months, so it helps to be deliberate about it.

Fewer casual meetings mean fewer chances to bump into people.
Invitations into homes usually come later in a friendship.
Many internationals also travel home over the holidays, so your circle can shrink in December.

If the quiet weeks feel heavy, a regular conversation can help. With BetterHelp you can talk to a counselor by video, phone or chat, and message between sessions, so you have someone to talk to even when the flat is empty.

How to Get More Daylight in a Dark Winter

Light is the most direct lever you have. So how do you get more of it when the sun is barely up? The trick is to treat daylight like an appointment, not an accident.

Go Out Before Noon

Research at Eindhoven University by Karin Smolders, reported in 2013, found that people felt more energetic after periods of brighter light exposure during the day. Morning light also helps anchor your body clock.

Take a 20-minute walk in the first few hours of daylight.
Have breakfast or coffee by a window, or outside if it is dry.
On lecture days, walk or cycle part of the way instead of taking the tram door to door.

Move Your Desk

Set up your desk next to the brightest window in your room.
Study in a library or café with big windows rather than a windowless room.
Open the curtains fully as soon as you wake up.

Indoor light is far dimmer than daylight, even on a grey day, so a few metres can make a difference. If you work from home, a desk by the window is the cheapest upgrade you can make this winter.

Walk or Cycle in Daylight

A 2017 study from the University of Colorado found that a week of winter camping gave people around 13 times more daylight than their normal indoor routine, and their body clocks shifted earlier. You do not need a tent, but the lesson holds: indoor life cuts your light dramatically.

Cycle to class or work when you can; the Netherlands and Germany are built for it.
Take calls on a walk rather than at your desk.
Swap one indoor workout a week for an outdoor run or walk.

Plan Weekend Daylight

Plan one daylight outing every weekend: a market, a park, a short train trip.
Go early; by 4 pm the light is already fading.
Bring a friend, which turns daylight into social time as well.

Weekends are where winter routines often slip. Late nights lead to late mornings, and by the time you are out of the door, the light has nearly gone. One planned morning outing each weekend protects your daylight and gives the week a shape.

Daily Habits That Help With Seasonal Sadness

Daylight can be an important part of your routine, and other habits may also help support your well-being during the darker months. What else makes a real difference? Mostly small, steady habits.

Keep Moving

The World Health Organization recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate activity a week for adults, and notes that activity supports sleep and overall well-being. Any amount is better than none.

Join a gym, a sports club or a dance class to keep activity social.
Cycle in daylight when the weather allows.
On grim days, ten minutes of stretching or a home workout still counts.

Protect Your Sleep Rhythm

Get up at roughly the same time every day, even on weekends.
Resist long lie-ins on dark mornings; they can make the next week harder.
Keep evenings dimmer and screens off before bed.

A steady wake-up time is the anchor. When it holds, your energy through the day tends to hold too, even when the sky outside stays grey.

Our guide to your sleep schedule after a move goes deeper on body clocks, light and caffeine timing.

Eat for Steady Energy

In northern European countries, sunlight during the winter months is generally insufficient for the body to produce adequate amounts of vitamin D. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre advises extra vitamin D for certain groups, such as people with darker skin or who spend little time outside in daylight, while the German Nutrition Society notes that sunlight in Germany is generally insufficient for adequate vitamin D production from October to March.

Check the official advice in your country to see whether it applies to you.
Keep regular meals; skipping lunch on dark days drains energy fast.
Cook with flatmates or friends; a shared meal does more than feed you.

Keep People in Your Week

The World Health Organization reported in 2025 that around one in six people worldwide are affected by loneliness, and that strong social connection is linked to better health. Winter is when that connection is easiest to lose.

Fix one regular social plan each week, such as a Thursday dinner or a Sunday walk.
Say yes to invitations, even when the sofa is tempting.
Call home at a set time, so it becomes a ritual rather than a rushed catch-up.

Making Your First Winter Abroad Feel Like Yours

Your first winter does not have to be something you simply survive. It can be the season you start to feel part of where you live. How? By borrowing the local ways of making winter bright.

Learn Local Winter Traditions

According to the German National Tourist Board, Christmas markets usually open in late November, Berlin alone has more than 50, and Dresden's Striezelmarkt has run since 1434. In the Netherlands, the EURAXESS Netherlands portal notes that Sinterklaas arrives by steamboat in mid-November, and the celebrations peak with pakjesavond, or present evening, on 5 December.

Visit a Christmas market with flatmates or colleagues.
Ask a local friend to explain the Dutch Christmas traditions and Sinterklaas.
Try one local winter dish, such as oliebollen or a cup of Glühwein.

Make Your Space Cosy

The Dutch call it gezellig and the Germans call it gemütlich: that warm, cosy, together feeling. You can build some of it at home.

Use warm lamps and candles rather than a single bright ceiling light.
Keep a blanket, good tea and a book ready for dark evenings.
Invite one or two people over; cosy is better shared.

Plan Something to Anticipate

Book a weekend trip, a concert or a visit from a friend for January or February.
Mark the dates when the days start to lengthen; by late January you will notice the change.
Start a winter project, such as learning to cook a new dish or picking up the local language.

Anticipation is a real comfort in the dark months. Knowing that a trip, a visit or a celebration is coming gives the grey weeks in between a purpose, and it gives you something to talk about with the people around you.

Talk About It

Tell flatmates or friends when you are finding the dark days hard; many will feel the same.
Share tips with other internationals; someone always knows the best bright café.
If the low feeling keeps coming back, talking to a qualified counselor can help you find practical strategies that fit your life.

Saying it out loud often takes away some of the weight. You might find that your flatmate from Spain or your colleague from Brazil has been feeling exactly the same, and that the dark months become easier once you are facing them together.

Conclusion

The winter blues is a common, everyday response to short, grey days, and it often hits harder in your first year abroad, when your routines and friendships are still forming. Daylight, movement, steady sleep and regular plans with people are the simplest ways through.

Treat daylight like an appointment, borrow the local traditions and give yourself things to look forward to. If the low feeling lasts for weeks or starts to shape your days, talking it through with a qualified counselor is a normal, practical step.

If you need someone to talk to right away, call TelefonSeelsorge in Germany on 0800 1110111, 0800 1110222 or 116 123, or De Luisterlijn in the Netherlands on 088 0767 000.

FAQ

What is the winter blues meaning?

The winter blues is an everyday term for feeling flatter, more tired and less motivated during the dark, cold months. It is common, it usually follows the seasons and it tends to ease as the days lengthen.

Why do I feel low in my first winter abroad?

Shorter days, grey skies, fewer outdoor social plans and missing your usual winter rituals can all stack up at once. In your first year, your local network is also still forming, which makes the season feel quieter.

How much daylight is there in Amsterdam or Berlin in December?

Around the shortest day, both cities get under eight hours of daylight, with sunset before 4.30 pm. Many days are also overcast, so getting outside matters even more.

What helps with seasonal sadness?

Daylight outdoors, especially in the morning, regular movement, steady sleep times, good meals and fixed plans with people all help. Small habits repeated every week can be a practical way to support your well-being during winter.

When should I talk to someone about the winter blues?

If the low feeling lasts most days for several weeks, or you notice it shaping your work or friendships, talk to someone you trust. A qualified counselor can help you work out practical strategies.