Kick the Winter Blues with Hygge!

January 17, 2017

This will make you rethink February

Do you have a case of the “winter blues?” Are you feeling tired, moody, or have a case of cabin fever? You're googling “SAD -- Seasonal Affective Disorder” and self-diagnosing on WebMD?

Internet searches suggest all kinds of generic tips like: eat a balanced diet, get enough sleep at night, turn on ultraviolet lights and exercise more. If you want to feel better, you’ve heard it all until suddenly you stumble upon……Hygge!

Now the more you read about Hygge the more you'll wonder where this Danish lifestyle has been all your life (or at least that is how I felt when I first discovered it).

Danish dudes and dames enjoy their long dark winters. That’s right I said enjoying, not just getting through but really making the most of the winter months. Isn’t that marvelous?

Fewer than 10% of Danes experience Seasonal Affective Disorder and Denmark is ranked as one of the world’s happiest countries. This is because Danes put emphasis on simple little luxuries. In the darker months, the winter is more intimate. Think: candles wedged into wine bottles gleaming in restaurant windows. Drinking cocoa by the fire.

Coming home and changing into your wooly socks.

Candles wedged into wine bottles gleam in restaurant windows. A steaming pot of creamy soup on the stove.

Cozy warm sheets on the bed, like our 'Tested by Science' softest flannel sheets and a down comforter or cable knit blanket.

These may sound like rustic pleasures and are not your idea of a good time. Yet you must admit that a wild night out on the town is inconvenient and a little bit miserable in the wintertime. Wouldn’t those rooftop parties be better saved for the warm summer nights? Why can’t we make the most of the winter? Hygge does not mean turning into a hermit. It focuses on making the best of the time of year when quiet evenings, comfortable clothes and furnishings are more desirable. (Read about Copenhagen's coziest cold-weather spots here.)

So stop fretting, you aren’t missing out on anything outside your own snuggly bed. This winter, practice taking life a little slower. Light some candles and enjoy the Hygge of your home.

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