How northerners survive the six months of darkness: secrets of winter malaise from Norway, Sweden and Finland

But the inhabitants of Norway, Sweden, Finland and the regions above the Arctic Circle have long ago learnt not only to survive this period, but also to find its advantages - both physically and psychologically.

Winter blues for many people start as early as October and can last until April. In 2025, the winter solstice falls on 21 December, which is the shortest day and longest night in the northern hemisphere. Daylight hours begin to increase after that, but real winter does not recede for a long time.

Experts from Norway, Sweden and Finland have revealed what strategies help northerners survive the darkest months - both literally and figuratively.

Sleep, routines and socialising: don't go "into the den"

Researcher Professor Timo Partonen from the Finnish Institute of Health and Wellbeing explains that winter darkness is a major blow to our biological clock.

The lack of daylight disrupts the circadian rhythm, making it difficult for the body to synchronise with the day-night cycle and disrupting sleep. In winter, we often sleep longer, but we still wake up "broken" and feel tired all day long.

Partonen recommends using a dawn simulator - a smart alarm clock that gradually switches on the lights in the bedroom to simulate sunrise. This helps to gently "nudge" the biological clock and make waking up easier.

In winter, people more often avoid socialising: they become more irritable, quarrel more easily, and more often withdraw into themselves. But isolation, Partonen emphasises, only intensifies the symptoms.

It is important to consciously maintain social contacts - meet with friends, go to classes, do not cancel joint plans. It also helps to keep physically active, which plays a key role in the fight against winter moping.

A separate bonus - weight control: according to the scientist, in winter people on average gain 2-5 kg, largely due to the craving for carbohydrates in the evening.

Light therapy: how to "switch on" the brain

Millions of people around the world suffer from seasonal depression - seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Typically, episodes start in autumn and run through spring or summer. There is a milder form, subsyndromal SAD, as well as a summer variant of seasonal depression, but it is less well studied.

Scientists increasingly understand how special cells in our eyes respond to the blue spectrum of light, turning it into nerve signals that affect mood and wakefulness. Sunlight is rich in blue light, so when there is enough light, the wakefulness centres in the brain are activated - we feel more focused and possibly happier.

Researcher Kathryn Roecklein from the University of Pittsburgh compared eye responses to blue light in people with and without SAD. On average, it turned out that patients with seasonal depression had lower sensitivity to blue light, especially in winter. This may explain the propensity for winter depression.

Severe forms need a doctor's help and antidepressants. But Professor Christian Benedikt, a pharmacologist at Uppsala University in Sweden, recommends light therapy for people with SAD as well as those experiencing mild winter moping.

"It's not a sentence for every season," he emphasises. - "It can be influenced.

We are talking about special lamps with a brightness of about 10,000 lux (about 20 times brighter than normal room lighting), which are used for 30 minutes in the morning. This therapy helps to "trigger" the circadian rhythm and increases the level of serotonin, the neurotransmitter of "good mood".

Some of the devices advertised as SAD lamps are not bright enough, so it is important to choose tested models. In some countries, insurance companies partially reimburse the cost of the equipment if a person is officially diagnosed with seasonal depression.

Partonen recommends combining the dawn simulator and morning light therapy - use them daily until noon.

Nordic mindset: embrace winter, not fight it

Psychologist Ida Solhog from the University of Tromsø (Arctic University of Norway) emphasises that it is equally important not only to "treat" the symptoms, but also to work with the attitude towards winter.

The key principle of northerners is not to hate winter, but to learn to appreciate it. This is a typical Norwegian approach, which Solhog says has a serious impact on psychological well-being in the face of prolonged darkness.

She advises using winter as an excuse to switch gears:

• develop domestic hobbies, create cosiness,

• rely on the concept of hygge - the Danish philosophy of "cosy happiness": plaids, candles, a warm drink, a film or a book,

• but without turning the flat into a hole for the winter.

After the film, Solhog suggests going outside with a thermos to have a fika, a traditional Swedish coffee break. Even in overcast weather, a short walk in the fresh air is beneficial.

And for the more adventurous, there's winter bathing. Many people in the Nordic countries practise ice diving. Solhog herself tries to jump into the cold water at least once a week off the coast of Tromsø, an island about 350 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle. She says it gives her a powerful boost of energy in the midst of a long winter.

"The challenge is to learn to see the light in the darkness," she says.

It's not for nothing that people in the North like to say, "There's no bad weather, there's inappropriate clothing."

Ice, sauna and more ice: advice from Finland's president

Even at the level of politicians in the Nordic countries, winter is treated as a challenge, but not a disaster. Finnish President Alexander Stubb, in a recent interview with the Associated Press, also shared his "recipe" for surviving the cold season.

According to him, the ideal scheme is as follows:
ice bathing → sauna → ice bathing again → sauna again → shower → and out into the world.

"That's how you're sure to cope," he assures.

In sum, the northerners' advice boils down to three things:

• give the body the light it needs (dawn simulators, light therapy, daytime walks),

• maintain the rhythm of life and contacts (sleep, movement, communication),

• tochange the optics - to perceive winter not as an enemy, but as a special season with its own rhythm, traditions and occasions for small joys.