SECRETS OF THE WORLD’S HAPPIEST PEOPLE
* The new Scandi outdoor craze from the world’s happiest nation that could get you healthier than ever (if it doesn’t Finnish you off first!)
IT WAS a bitterly cold February evening and Katja Pantzar couldn’t quite believe what she was about to do. Wearing nothing but a swimsuit and a wool hat, she stood on the edge of the dock, peering into the icy waters of the sea below. Then slowly, gradually, she clambered down the ladder and lowered herself in.
‘My first thought was, this is unbearable,’ says the journalist and author. ‘The water was two degrees Celsius and it was a massive shock to my body.’
For many people, a dip in the frigid, winter sea sounds like sheer insanity. But 48-year-old Katja was compelled by a desire to find ‘Sisu’.
Pronounced ‘see-soo’, it’s the latest Scandinavian lifestyle craze, and people in Finland – declared last week by the UN as the happiest country on Earth – swear by it.
It follows hygge, the Danish quest for cosiness, and lagom, the Swedish idea of ‘just the right amount’.
Sisu draws on unique elements of Finnish culture to spread the country’s famous contentment.
But where hygge and lagom are slightly vague concepts, sisu is specifically intended to transform the way we cope with difficult times. Katja says: ‘It’s a kind of everyday courage which helps improve wellbeing and build resilience, making it easier to cope. Simple measures to build strength can be incorporated into your everyday routine. You choose challenging activities, such as cycling to work no matter the weather, or swimming in freezing water, instead of taking the easy way out.’
Her new book, Finding Sisu, is the result of her personal quest to adopt the positive attitudes of the Finnish people, after moving to Finland from London 15 years ago. It has helped her cope with depression and anxiety, lowered her stress levels and increased her energy. ‘If I’m feeling anxious, or stressed, or tired,’ she says, ‘I have a toolkit of small things I do that make a huge difference.’
Katja, the daughter of Finnish immigrants, grew up in Vancouver, Canada, and also lived in Britain for a time. At 33, longing for a new adventure, she moved to Helsinki after bagging a job as editor of a magazine and noticed the difference between Nordic and British lifestyles.
‘In Finland, we have a proper lunch break to eat healthy, hot food and finish work at 5pm,’ she says. ‘People spend time in nature all year round, even when the weather is challenging.
‘Observing people around me, I wondered why they were so often upbeat and energetic. I thought, “Is there something I can learn?”’
And she found there was plenty. First, she followed the example of friends and began to cycle the four miles to and from work every day. ‘I felt so much better for it – I started sleeping better and felt less stressed,’ she says. ‘People said to me, “Wow, you have sisu for doing that,” which intrigued me. I hadn’t really given the term much attention. But then I started to become more interested. I talked to researchers and friends to discover whether it was responsible for the happiness of the Finnish people.’
Katja was diagnosed with depression in her mid-20s following the end of a relationship and the death of a family friend.
She was prescribed anti-depressant medication and psychotherapy, all of which helped. ‘But no medical practitioner ever asked me how much time I spent outdoors, or about exercise or diet,’ she says.
A few months after she arrived in Finland, a doctor suggested she look into natural remedies such as exercise before starting a new prescription – and her mood lifted.
The most powerful of all exer- cises was winter swimming, a popular pastime in Finland, where many private clubs are devoted to it. And so, here she was on Valentine’s Day – a celebration of friendship in Finland – in freezing water. Initially, all she could feel was pain – the shock of the cold on her body. After 30 seconds she could bear it no longer and clambered out.
‘But then I started to tingle and felt a sense of euphoria. Afterwards, I felt invigorated and calm. I slept very well that night.’
According to experts, a 30-second dip in cold water has the same health benefits as walking up and down the stairs 15 to 20 times.
IT’S A KIND OF EVERYDAY COURAGE THAT HELPS YOU COPE
These include boosting the immune system; enhancing circulation and burning calories. A surge of ‘feelgood’ hormones such as endorphins, serotonin and dopamine are also produced, reducing stress.
Katja swims virtually every day at her local winter swimming club. ‘It’s like a reset button,’ she says. ‘If I have aches or fatigue or worries, they get left behind in the sea.’
After taking the plunge, friends sit together in saunas. There are 3.3million saunas in Finland, and they’re seen as social gathering places as well as a way to relieve stress and soothe muscle pains.
They have an added benefit, too. ‘Finnish people have fewer body hang-ups, which I attribute to the fact they take naked saunas together,’ she says.
In Finland, there’s less emphasis on taking medication for niggling aches, with many using movement as medicine instead. Particularly beneficial is a walk in a green space, which studies have shown reduces stress, lowers blood pressure and reduces heart rate. Spendvegetables, ing time outdoors is a fundamental part of sisu – ironically when the weather is miserable – as tolerating cold weather takes fortitude. In fact, 96 per cent of Finns exercise outdoors two to three times a week, all year round.
Katja points to the example of the popular Finnish past-time of ‘forest therapy’, in which people walk through forests in order to forage for foods such as berries and mushrooms.
Fitting exercise into your daily routine is key to achieving sisu.
‘Cycling or walking even just part of the way is an easy way to get some exercise,’ says Katja. ‘Household chores and playing with children count too.’
Rather than turn to fad diets, Scandinavians fill their plates with perfectly balanced proportions of protein and carbohydrates in a diet rich in berries, vegetables, oily fish and fibrerich rye bread. As a result, only 20 per cent of women in Finland are obese, compared to 58 per cent in the UK.
‘For my British and American friends, eating seems to be complicated,’ she says. ‘Here, it’s simply about eating proper meals which are nutritious and wholesome.’
After 15 years in Helsinki, Katja says: ‘I still see things from an outsider’s perspective, which makes me appreciate them more. I still struggle with anxiety on occasion, but thanks to simple Nordic ways I know how to keep on top of it.
‘Sisu is an attitude. It’s not giving up and challenging yourself to try new experiences. Small changes can lead to bigger ones.’
I LEAVE MY WORRIES IN THE SEA WHEN I SWIM