Sailing Through Winter Like a Scandinavian

I'm just going to be honest here: the holiday season can be wonderful, but this time of year can be super stressful as well. When you add in the cold and the loss of daylight hours, winter can have a huge impact on how we're feeling. 

While we might get the urge to follow the example of animals that hibernate when the days get shorter, there are some human cultures with interesting solutions, too. Here's how some Scandinavians cope with their notoriously dark, cold winters:

🌙 Diving into the Cold: Let's face it, when it's bitterly cold outside, jumping into a body of water should probably be the last thing on your mind. Preliminary studies of Scandinavian people who participated in winter swimming followed by sauna found interesting results, though. They stayed warmer overall in all sorts of situations, possibly due to changes in their brown fat.

🌙 Taking Advantage of Daylight: Letting the sun hit your skin for a few extra minutes during the daylight hours increases your body's vitamin D and mood-altering serotonin levels. While there are conflicting studies about the effects of light therapy, this town in Norway thought sunlight was so important, they built mirrors to reflect the sunlight into their shady valley.

🌙Cozy Culture: The Norwegians call it "hygge," and its principles are supported by science! Did you know that setting in warm lighting, holding a warm drink, and being near natural materials are all elements that improve our outlook toward life and other people? When we're tucked into a comforting space with an expansive view, we experience a mood boost as well.

🌙Embracing the Darkness: Rather than fight the dim light of the winter season, many people in the far north look forward to it. Their homes and towns are decorated with charming light displays that look like a winter wonderland. The city of Stockholm, which gets just six hours of daylight on the winter solstice, decorates the city with over 1 million LED bulbs for the holidays. 

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