5 Habits Scandinavians (Mostly) Follow to Stay Healthy

What’s life without a dash of fun

You could measure health in many different ways. For some, staying healthy may be having as little body fat as humanly possible. For others, it may be a calm mind. Holistic happiness. A strong body with lots of muscles. For an athlete, it may be avoiding injury.

Medical News Today says it well:

“Health is a state of physical, mental and social well-being, not just the absence of disease or infirmity. Good health helps people live a full life.”

Scandinavians find value in common sense. For them, it doesn’t make sense to eat cabbage soup for a week. The here today-gone tomorrow diets don’t tend to stick as strongly in this part of the world because they’re not sustainable in the long run.

And, what’s dessert without real butter?

Light products simply don’t cut it. It’s all about moderation. Here are five habits Scandinavians (mostly) follow, myself included, to stay healthy.

We do activities we actually enjoy

For me, it’s a long walk or a short run.

Last weekend we went to a kids’ birthday party at a local roller skating rink (of all things). It brought me right back to my childhood, blissfully skating around town. It tempted me to resume rollerskating as a fitness activity. We’ll see.

The point is, Scandinavians focus on finding activities they actually enjoy.

For many, many people, especially in Norway, this means cross-country skiing during the winter. For others, it’s hiking. Swimming. Biking.

When the activity — which also is an exercise—is actually fun, you’re not dreading it. It’s not some rigorous weight loss mission you’re trying to accomplish. You burn calories without being overly focused on the health benefits.

Which brings me to my next point.

We don’t count every single calorie

Again, Scandinavians love common sense.

It doesn’t make sense to count every single calorie you’re putting in your body. It sounds exhausting and time-consuming. Instead of counting calories, we emphasize moderation.

Worth a paragraph in itself:

We aim for moderation in everything

Food. Exercise. Social interactions.

Moderation, as much as possible, in all aspects of life. I am not a doctor or a wellness expert, but my naive guess is that one dessert with all the real ingredients (cream, butter) each week is better than a daily dessert with low-fat cream and fake butter.

As for exercise, there is such a thing called too much exercise. I experienced it during my first pregnancy, running too much and ignoring all the signals, and my body still hasn’t recovered 100% from it.

I’m bringing up moderation in social interactions as well because being healthy is also about living a full life, not just having a visible healthy body. As an introvert, I enjoy quality social interactions with good friends and family, but large crowds and impersonal gatherings wears me out. For others, it may be the opposite.

Either way, when making plans, I pay attention to my mental health as well, making sure there’s room and space to just be on my calendar.

We are outside in all weather

Rain, shine, whatever.

“There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing” is big in Scandinavia. (I know, I love bringing it up.) It means dressing up, layer after layer, and getting outside. Doesn’t matter if it’s pouring down. I know for myself that I always feel better after spending a few moments in the great outdoors.

Being outside, whether you’re doing a planned exercise or not, can boost happiness and good health, which is an endless research topic in itself.

Fitness Nation lists several reasons as to why it’s good for us to bring the workout outside: Even spending as little as five minutes exercising outside can improve self-esteem. Being out near greenery or watery features boosts this effect. Low-to-moderate exercises, such as walking, cycling, fishing, and gardening, lead to greater improvements in one’s self-esteem.

And then there’s vitamin D.

In a Japanese study that focused on the effects of spending time in a forest environment, researchers discovered that spending a short period outdoors could reduce your cortisol levels, which is the chemical found in your body that causes stress.

This all makes perfect sense.

We eat Nordic foods

Food and health go hand in hand.

Living off of fast food or processed meals isn’t too healthy. It can affect your body in more ways than adding extra weight to carry around.

The Nordic Diet consists of clean foods such as whole grains, vegetables, fruits, berries, meat, and (lots of) fish. Often locally sourced.

In Norway, it didn’t cost more to stay healthy. That’s not the case in the United States. Sadly. Buying fresh stuff isn’t cheap.

We also don’t starve ourselves but focus on enjoying what we eat.

The dietary advices are very similar throughout the Scandinavian countries. After moving to the United States, I’ve personalized my diet somewhat to what I enjoy eating, but there’s a clear Nordic theme to it (potatoes, anyone?).

Scandinavians try to keep it simple in all aspects of life. A red apple is a simple, healthy snack. A cinnamon-apple energy bar with 18 ingredients isn’t.

What a healthy lifestyle means for you and me is subjective.

It’s personal, and for me, it’s about having a body I’m content with. If my body lets me do the things I want in life, rollerblading included, I’m good.