You might find inspiration for handling the dark months ahead from Norwegians, according to Kari Leibowitz.
Leibowitz, a doctoral candidate in social psychology at Stanford University, has studied how Norwegians cope with winter and “polar nights,” the period beginning on Nov. 21, when the sun sets in Norway and doesn’t rise again for another two months. She spent a year at the University of Tromsø, located 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle, to better understand how people survive—and actually, thrive—in such extreme and unusual conditions.
She found that people with a positive wintertime mindset—which encompasses their thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes toward the season—is positively associated with their
well-being, including life satisfaction and personal growth.
Leibowitz is researching psychological and social forces in health care, with a focus on the doctor–patient relationship. She also works with psychologist Alia Crum in the Stanford Mind & Body Lab, where they study how
mindsets can make a positive difference to emotional and physical well-being.
I originally went to understand how they survived during the winter. But people in Norway didn’t see it so much as something to survive—they saw it as an opportunity for lots of things they loved: outdoor activities like cross-country skiing but also special, cozy time indoors. Instead of the polar night being a time of darkness, I actually learned that it is a time of incredible light—blue light for a few hours a day, really pretty sunset colors as the sun skirts below the horizon, and, of course, incredible Northern Lights. They really showed me that it’s possible to love winter, and there I learned to love winter myself.
In other words, people in Norway who had more positive wintertime mindsets also tended to be happier overall.
Of course, when we shelter in place, there’s a lot we can’t do and it’s easy to focus on that. And I’m not suggesting that people deny this reality or ignore all of the suffering and loss and things we’re missing this year. But given that we’re all stuck in a situation no one wants to be in, how can we focus on a) what opportunities might be present? and b) the things that we do enjoy about the winter season, to bring us a little bit of comfort?
For me, this is the first year that I won’t be going home to be with my family in New Jersey for the holidays, and I’m really sad to not be doing that. But I’m trying to focus instead on the fact that that means instead of flying cross-country and running around seeing all my family members, this year I can actually have a really restful holiday and focus on expressing my love for my family by sending things in the mail and organizing Zoom calls. So those are some of the opportunities I’ll be trying to take advantage of this year. And this idea of finding the opportunity in difficult things isn’t just from a wintertime mindset—it’s backed by a lot of psychological research, including work out of the Stanford Mind & Body Lab, like Alia Crum’s work on
stress mindsets.
Another big part of this mindset is getting outside—Norwegians love to be active in the winter, and even have the saying, “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.” Given that we’re all stuck at home right now, prioritizing bundling up and moving and spending time outdoors even in “bad” weather will be really important for keeping up people’s spirits and mood this winter.
