Growing up in Wisconsin, winter was always a time to be celebrated. I spent countless mornings watching the news headlines like a hawk, just waiting for my school’s name to pop up with the word CANCELED. Snow days meant getting to spend hours outside building forts with my sister, sledding down “the Big Hill’, and scalding my tongue on boiling hot cocoa. But as soon as I hit high school, the chill of winter sank deep into my bones, and I decided that the ‘most wonderful time of year’ was now an upsetting one because I HATE being cold.
After I moved to Colorado many years later, I attended a lecture about how to be active outdoors during the colder months of the year. During the lecture, I was introduced to the Norwegian concept of friluftsliv, and it completely changed my Grinch-like perspective of the winter.
What is friluftsliv???
Friluftsliv means “free air life” in Norwegian. Friluftsliv is a simple lifestyle centered around spending time outdoors and feeling deeply connected with the natural environment.
As Norway is situated quite north of the equator and gets only an average of 6 hours of sunlight during the winter time, the nation doesn’t seem like it would offer ideal living conditions in the winter months. Yet, Norway ranked #7 on the World Happiness Index this year. Seeing as nine out of ten Norwegians believe it is important to lead “friluftsliv” lifestyles, there’s something significant about getting your butt outside, even when it is dark and cold out.
What are some examples of friluftsliv?
Some of the most common examples of friluftsliv in practice in Norway during the winter include:
Hiking
Skiing/snowboarding
Snowshoeing
Kayaking
Ice fishing
Biking
But of course, not everyone lives with pristine mountain ranges right outside their front door. So for those living in places like Wisconsin, this could look like:
Grabbing a friend for a little walk-and-talk
Ice skating on a pond
Going sledding
Going cross-country skiing
Going geocaching on a local trail
Taking the dog around the block
“Okay so these activities all sound great, but that doesn’t change the fact that the cold sucks...”
This was my first thought after hearing about examples of friluftsliv at the lecture. My second thought was, “Well a lot of these activities are expensive,” and my third was, “It’s too dark to do any of these things safely after work.” In other words, I was making a lot of excuses for myself. Then, I heard this quote:
“There’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing.”
After the lecturer said this , I felt like an idiot having an epiphany. I could solve all of my complaints about being cold if I was smarter when it came to bundling up. I don’t just mean throwing on a hat, coat, gloves, and calling it good. I mean putting on layers upon layers of long sleeves and doubling up on pants. As soon as you feel like the Michelin man, you're ready to go outside and get the blood flowing.
What are the benefits to friluftsliv?
Friluftsliv is an amazing practice for many reasons:
Spending time outside decreases stress and anxiety while promoting feelings of peace and curiosity.
Outdoor activities and movement boost physical well-being, physical strength, and overall health!
Surrounding ourselves with nature strengthens our respect for the environment, our understanding of nature, and our relationship with Mother Earth.
With that being said, I highly encourage you to bundle up and challenge yourself to spend a little more time outside in the winter.
Since I spend every hour of sunlight at the office, I’ve started taking my coffee breaks outside! Even after just 10 minutes in the cold, I would return to work feeling much better