A decade ago, Kari Leibowitz traveled to Tromsø, a city located above the Arctic Circle in Norway, to study a curious phenomenon.
Although the city experiences polar night, a time of darkness when the sun doesn’t rise above the horizon for two months of the year, its residents didn’t tend to perceive the long winter as dreary. In fact, they saw it as a time of opportunity.
This positive outlook toward the season is what Leibowitz calls “wintertime mindset.” She has also observed it among people in her research trips across Scandinavia, the Nordic region, northern Japan and other places with extreme winters.
Leibowitz, a health psychologist, talked to Life Kit about finding comfort and joy in the changes around us all year round. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. You grew up on the Jersey Shore in New Jersey, a summer destination. How did that shape your views of winter?
I had this cultural understanding that was so engrained it was almost a fact: Winter sucks. Winter is depressing. Winter is bad for your physical and mental health and well-being. End of story. But as you’ve learned, some people — especially those who live in places with harsh winters — regard the season as a beautiful, cozy and enjoyable time of year. In fact, in a study from 2020, you found that the further north people lived, the more positive their wintertime mindset was. Why is that?
You have no choice. When you have such an extreme change between seasons, especially from light to dark, summer to winter, you need to adjust your behavior and adapt the way you’re living according to the season. This adaptation is really healthy and useful.
Why does mindset matter so much when it comes to winter?
Many studies have shown that mindsets impact our physical functioning, our emotional well-being, how we move throughout the world and our physiology.
When you have the mindset that winter is wonderful, you are more likely to notice and focus on the things you enjoy about the season. The way that going for an evening walk in the winter makes you feel refreshed, or the way that the indirect light of winter is really beautiful and extremely well-suited for cozy activities like reading, baking or writing.
In nature, winter is a time for rest and recuperation. But you point out that we humans don’t think those patterns apply to us.
I have friends who know what I study. After the clocks change in November, they’ll say things to me like, “Oh, I’ve just been so tired lately. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” And I’m like, “There’s nothing wrong with you. You’re a living being on a planet with a climate, you know?”
If you look at every living thing on Earth, plant or animal, they are all changing their behavior in winter in some way. They’re migrating or hibernating, shedding their leaves, storing up their energy for spring. Our modern societies and conveniences have convinced us that it’s a personal or moral failure if we want to slow down in the winter.
Your book offers practical suggestions on how to get into winter mode. When winter begins, you suggest making a list of five things you’re looking forward to about the season. What’s one thing on your list?
Candles. When you light them with the intention of embracing and celebrating the darkness, it actually has a profound impact on your experience. It changes the meaning of winter darkness.
How can we bring more warmth into our daily lives?
I like to change my diet seasonally as much as I can. I switch from a cold breakfast in the summer to a warm breakfast in the winter. And I switch from iced coffee to hot coffee. I swap out my lighter summer comforter for a thicker winter comforter. I pull out my favorite coats from storage.
These are the things I need to be comfortable in the winter. And they reorient my attention from the negative things about the cold, dark and wet to the things I enjoy when the temperature drops.
You encourage reclaiming a summer activity during the winter, like walking on the beach or having a picnic in the park. Why is that? A lot of us experience winter lethargy, that sluggishness that comes from being inside all the time. A few hours out in the cold revitalizes us.
Go out, bundle in your winter layers, cook some hot dogs on the grill, drink some hot chocolate and enjoy the winter weather. Find a park near you that has a fire pit or a charcoal grill, and gather your friends around it. This is a very Scandinavian pastime.
But it’s so cold out there!
In Norway, they have this saying: “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.” You want to be warm enough. That’s the No. 1 thing that makes the biggest difference in people’s comfort and ability to get outside.
In your book, you mention a practice called “big light off.” What is it, and how does it impact your well-being? “Big light off” is what my husband and I call it when we turn off the overhead lights in our home, especially in the darkness of winter. It’s not a totally original idea, but it’s something you’ll see throughout Scandinavia. People there love lamps and candles and soft light. It makes the darkness friendlier and creates a moody, cozy atmosphere that feels very intimate. People open up, the conversations are different.
There’s some research showing that darkness enhances creativity because it gets rid of our usual inhibitions and constraints. And that can be special to winter.
