--- title: "The Further North Norwegians Live, the More They Enjoy Winter: 7 Ways to Stay Happy Until Spring" description: Norwegians in the darkest places like winter most, and a positive winter outlook tracks with life satisfaction. Seven ways to stay happy until spring. author: Dr Marina Nani (Editor-in-Chief) date: 2026-11-03T15:01:20.357Z updated: 2026-11-03T15:01:20.369Z canonical: https://richwoman.co/article/how-to-stay-happy-in-winter-norway image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/pexels-20360740.webp categories: Feeling Good and Happy, Wellbeing content_type: Guide region: Norway publication: Rich Woman Magazine schema_type: Article --- In the winter of 2015, psychologists Kari Leibowitz and Joar Vittersø asked 238 Norwegians in Oslo, Troms county and Svalbard how they felt about winter. The people living in the darkest places liked the season most. On a scale of 1 to 5, residents of Oslo, who get about six hours of direct sunlight a day in midwinter, scored 3.34. Residents of Troms, where the sun does not rise from mid-November to mid-January, scored 3.58. On Svalbard, where the polar night lasts four months and two of them bring no light at all, the average was 4.01. The study, published in the International Journal of Wellbeing in 2020, linked a positive view of winter with higher life satisfaction and more frequent positive emotions. Wellbeing itself did not differ between the three places. What changed with latitude was how people thought about the season, and that outlook carried the link between where they lived and how they felt. Leibowitz, a health psychologist who went on to complete her PhD at Stanford, had moved to Tromsø in 2014 as a Fulbright scholar, expecting to study how residents endured two months without sun. Earlier research had already suggested they coped better than outsiders assume. The Tromsø Study surveyed 8,951 adults over more than a year and found that sleep problems rose in winter, while mental distress showed no significant seasonal difference. The researchers are careful about what their findings mean. The survey captured one moment in time, so it cannot show whether a positive winter outlook makes people happier or whether happier people simply like winter more. They also stress that seasonal affective disorder is not a failure of attitude that anyone can think their way out of. If your mood stays low for weeks and gets in the way of daily life, speak to your GP. With that in mind, here is what the research and Leibowitz's later work suggest. ## 1. Write down five things you look forward to Leibowitz suggests starting the season with a list of five things you are looking forward to. A first fire of the year, a winter recipe, a long weekend away or a December concert all count. The list gives the coming months something to anticipate rather than endure. ## 2. Notice what winter gives you The questions in the Wintertime Mindset Scale work as a ready-made checklist. People with the most positive outlook agreed with statements such as 'Winter is an especially beautiful time of year' and 'There are many things to enjoy about the winter'. Frost on a hedge, a pink sky at four in the afternoon and the first hot drink after a cold walk are the kind of moments those statements describe. ## 3. Do things you can only do in winter Another statement on the scale reads 'I enjoy doing many things I only do during the winter'. The authors point to time outdoors in every season, including cross-country skiing, as part of Norwegian culture. In a British winter, the equivalent might be ice skating, a frosty morning run, a winter garden visit or a Christmas market. ## 4. Dress for the weather and go out anyway Leibowitz often quotes a Norwegian saying: there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing. Good boots and proper layers turn a grey afternoon into a walk instead of a reason to stay in. Our guides to [getting more winter daylight](https://richwoman.co/article/winter-daylight-mood) and [keeping up a daily winter walk](https://richwoman.co/article/winter-walking-benefits) cover the detail. ## 5. Turn the big light off Leibowitz calls one of her habits 'Big Light Off': switching off harsh overhead lights in the evening in favour of lamps and candles. Respondents in Norway were asked whether they liked the soft light of the winter months, and those with a positive outlook tended to agree. Lamplight makes a long evening feel cosy rather than gloomy. ## 6. Let the season slow you down In the far north, people tend to sleep more and have less energy in the dark months, and the researchers note that this is treated locally as a normal yearly rhythm rather than a sign of illness. Leibowitz encourages people to ease into a slower pace. Earlier nights, longer books and fewer plans are part of the season. Because sleep problems also rose in the Tromsø winter, a steady evening routine helps, and our [science-backed evening rituals](https://richwoman.co/article/afterdark-evening-rituals) are a place to start. ## 7. Spend winter with other people The researchers observed that a positive view of winter seemed easier to hold when the people around you shared it, and harder in places where complaining about the weather is the norm. Suggest a winter walk with a friend, host a candlelit supper, or agree with your household to swap one grumble about the cold for one thing you enjoyed that day. Leibowitz later travelled to other cold places, from Iceland to Japan, and gathered what she learned in her 2024 book, How to Winter.