Lessons From Norway for Surviving a Pandemic Winter

Winter takeaways from Tromsø

There’s a lot of worry about what the winter will be like during the pandemic. If it’s cold and dark will it be harder to socialize outdoors? As Ardsheer Ali writes in Elemental, The Norwegian island of Tromsø lies at a latitude of 69.64°N, 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle and from mid-November to mid-January, the city rarely sees the sun.

However, citizens of Tromsø tend not to show signs of wintry woes. Studies in the BMC Psychiatry journal show that there were no considerable differences in the mental health of the inhabitants in winter as compared to other seasons.

“While many in the Western hemisphere brace for the harshness of winter, Tromsø’s residents await its arrival with excitement,” writes Ali. “They look forward to ski season and the shelter of home. Koselig — the Norwegian term for coziness — is a notion widely embraced across the island. Norwegians find a wonderful warmth in snuggling up under the covers when the world outside is frozen.” Read more below.

A Pandemic Winter Doesn’t Have to Defeat Us: Lessons From Norway