On this significant day,

a theory on why the Scots

still lack well-being

 

Eileen Reid

 

See the sky? It's a big part of our problem
Photograph by Islay McLeod

The impending referendum on independence has given rise again to discussions of the national character of Scots. Can Scotland stand on its own as an independent nation if it does not have a clear sense of, and pride in, its own distinct cultural identity? But if there is a Scottish national character, what is it? Who articulates it? For example, is there a recognisable and distinct body of Scottish literature? Do Scottish artists visually articulate a notion of Scottishness?
     One worry about the focus on national character, if there is one, is that it might not be a character of which we can be proud. I can't help but wince at
P G Wodehouse's old quip that 'it is never a problem to distinguish between a Scotsman and a ray of sunshine'. But as will become clear shortly, I think this comment more apt than he could ever have realised.
      In 'The Crisis of Scottish Confidence', Carol Craig offers a compelling case regarding the roots of our national character. According to Craig one cannot understand contemporary Scotland if one does not understand its cultural roots in Calvin and Knox. It is this particular form of Protestantism, with a range of social and cultural accretions over the centuries, that have shaped decisively the Scottish psyche for good and ill.
     There is much to be said for her thesis, and her book repays close reading. But I think it is not the whole story. For it does not fully explain, if that is indeed possible, why Scots took to Calvin in the first place. Why did Calvin, and later Knox, find such fertile ground in Scotland but not in, say, Spain, Italy or Portugal? There was plenty of discontent with the church amongst the Mediterranean peoples at the time of the Reformation, but they did not respond to the call of Calvin. Protestantism in its most extreme forms seems to have been tied to the north. Why?
     I have a suggestion: climate. In a moment I will set out some of the empirical findings that link certain physical and psychological conditions to a lack of direct sunlight; but first it is worth stressing that this form of cultural explanation has a long pedigree, going back to at least the ancient Greeks. Hippocrates held that human nature is universal, and cultural differences are to be explained not by appeal to inherent differences in race (a common belief at the time), but by differences in the environment. Human beings in different physical environments produce significantly different cultures. This line of thought is echoed in the 20th century by Arnold Toynbee in his monumental 'A Study of History'.
     Toynbee’s principal thesis is that environmental factors account for the birth, growth, decay and death of 30 distinct civilisations. And this line of thought seems plausible if you’ve ever had a holiday outside of Scotland. I have just returned from the delightful island of Fuerteventura and I am still benefiting from the effects of sunlight, warmth, relaxation and the rest of it. Those beneficial effects undoubtedly include improved mood. This is significant because, let's face it, you'd have to be suffering from long-term despair to find Calvin remotely attractive.

 

     Now to a few facts about the Scottish climate: cloud cover and density. The west of Scotland has the second most dense cloud cover in the world. (The first prize goes to an unlucky patch of northern British Columbia – notoriously, according to my Scottish-Canadian husband, the most dismal but sparsely populated zip code south of the arctic circle on the North American mainland). What's more, it is possible for this part of our country (the most densely populated) to go over 100 consecutive days without any direct sunlight. This is significant because all human beings require 15 minutes of direct sunlight every day (not cumulative in a two-week holiday to Fuerteventura) for healthy bones, general health, and psychological well-being. That is bad enough. But there is more.
      In geographical regions above 40 degrees latitude, the sun is never strong enough in winter to allow for the natural production of vitamin D. Glasgow sits at 55 degrees latitude. So, even when we do get a ‘sunny’ day during our long winter, unfortunately it doesn't count.
     Why does cloud density matter? Precisely because lack of sunlight is linked to so many health problems, both mental and physical, and these in turn cannot but affect people's mood and temperament. We are familiar now with seasonal affective disorder, a form of depression linked to low levels of serotonin. In previous generations this would have been 'treated' with the bottle; it is now routinely treated with sunlight lamps.
     Less commonly known is that 40% of women in the west of Scotland have low bone density due to vitamin D deficiency brought on by a lack of sunlight. Lack of sunlight and vitamin D deficiency is also linked to higher levels of breast cancer, multiple sclerosis, and the re-emergence of rickets. In fact we are only beginning to discover the implications of the lack of sunlight on Scottish well-being. No doubt we will soon find that lack of exposure to direct sunlight has epigenetic effects that have long-term health implications. Perhaps the so-called 'Glasgow effect' is down to this alongside poverty.
     Alain de Botton, the UK's armchair philosopher tweeted recently: 'It shouldn't be disrespectful to the complexity of the human condition to say that despair is also, often, low blood sugar'. On this day of significance in Scottish history, I'd like to amend that to: 'It is not disrespectful to the complexity of Scottish culture to say that lack of sunlight has had a major influence on identity and well-being'.
     Carol Craig is right to say that we really do need to get away from harping on about Scottish identity if we are to improve our lot here in Scotland, especially if independence becomes a reality. Although we cannot alter our history and its legacies, we can address again Craig's thesis concerning low confidence, and in addition, similar to other northern countries like Iceland and Norway, mitigate against the long-term ill-effects of climate. I think this is so important, I will support any party for life that proposes to dispense calcium and vitamin D to every Scottish school child, and regards as mandatory in building plans that sunlight lamps rooms are integral to every school in Scotland.

 

Eileen Reid is head of widening participation, Glasgow School of Art,
writing here in a personal capacity