What is Hygge?

The cooler weather that signifies the end of the year is finally coming. As temperatures drop, days get shorter, and family’s begin to come together for the holidays, people all over the country are beginning to feel the urge to hunker down and get cozy indoors. This is the spirit of the Danish term “Hygge”, the act of focusing on comfort and well being. 

There are many ways to embrace the hygge mentality, and this will often result in different acts for different people. The general idea is to get cozy and work on providing for your mental and physical health to help recharge for your day-to-day life. Today’s culture often embraces the hustle and grind of a challenging career, but this makes taking the time to recover and recharge all the more important. 

If you are looking to start leaning into the idea of hygge, some common activities include:

• Gathering around a fire with friends and loved ones.

• Taking the time to start reading that book that has been sitting on your shelf.

• Unplugging from social media and the internet to be truly present in the real world. 

• Cook an old family recipe to relive a favorite childhood memory.

• Declutter your living space to make it more soothing and comforting.

Give a couple of these ideas a try in the coming weeks, and let us know in the comments down below what other activities you want to try to help embrace hygge!

If you are looking for more information about hygge or ideas for other activities to try, take a look at this article from NPR.org.