![]() ![]() Norway has a concept called friluftsliv, which translates roughly to “open air life.” According to Per Kare Jakobsen, a researcher at the University of Tromso who studies friluftsliv and open-air tourism, “the way Norwegians are brought up with the strong cultural tradition of friluftsliv is key to understanding our (generally quite positive) mind-set.” This means dressing for the weather - from woolen socks and leggings to safety-focused reflective strips on your jacket - and getting outside. Those who have a positive wintertime mind-set consistently employ three strategies. According to Linda McGurk, the Swedish author of “There’s No Such Thing as Bad Weather,” “Even if you haven’t grown up with this, I don’t think it’s too late.” She says you can still cultivate a positive wintertime mind-set as an adult. Kids play outside at school, wearing light-reflecting vests, even when it’s dark in the daytime and snowing. If you’re properly bundled up, you can continue to see friends and relatives outdoors while making the effort to minimize coronavirus risk.Įmbracing winter is a hallmark of Scandinavian family life. In the pandemic, rather than feeling depressed that the arrival of cold weather will mean that you’ll be isolated indoors, apart from friends and family, we can take lessons from Scandinavians about how to continue getting together outdoors.īefore you dismiss the idea of outdoor winter fun, think of the cold-weather traditions you may already have positive associations with, like tailgate parties, bonfires or ice skating. In fact, my research found that this positive wintertime mind-set was associated with well-being, including greater life satisfaction and more positive emotions. People there see the winter as a special time of year full of opportunities for enjoyment and fulfillment, rather than a limiting time of year to dread. One reason, I learned, is that they tend to have a “positive wintertime mind-set.” Yet the residents of Tromso have low rates of seasonal depression. They get, at most, a few hours of indirect light a day from the end of November to the end of January. ![]() In Tromso, the sun doesn’t rise at all for two months. ![]() As part of a United States-Norway Fulbright research grant, I went to the world’s northernmost university in Tromso, Norway - over 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle - to see how people thrived during the long winters. I’m a psychologist who moved to the Arctic a few years ago to answer these questions. How do they do it, and what can we learn from them? If we can’t gather safely indoors, where the cold and dark of winter usually drive us, what will we do? For inspiration, we can look to Scandinavia, where people live with some of the darkest, longest winters and yet are consistently ranked as the happiest people in the world. This winter, indoor dining, bars, movie theaters and many other indoor gatherings are likely to be ill-advised, if not prohibited. ![]()
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