GET UP AND GOKOTTA

Early rising and its attendant self-care rituals are the latest Scandi path to health and productivity

Just when you thought we’d run out of Scandinavian words to sum up a better way to live, along comes another. But, before you press the snooze button, consider whether you may be in need of gokotta, the latest Swedish lifestyle trend that is all about embracing early rising.

Gokotta means “early-morning cuckoo” and is practised in Sweden from May 30 to mid-summer as a means of enjoying nature and improving productivity.

“In a world of ‘always on’, the commitment to being with ourselves, fully, if only for a short moment every morning, helps us take notice of our inner compass,” says wellness expert and author Linnea Dunne. Her new book, Good Mornings, is a lesson in reclaiming the morning as “me time” through meditation, exercise and self-care. “Changing the rhythm of your day can be tough at the start, but few people stop rising early once they’ve started.”

Gokotta, like all the other Scandi buzzwords we’ve adopted over the past few years, is a feeling or mood that evades definition. It contains elements of hygge

(the art of being cosy), lagom (meaning “just enough”), and umage (the practice of “making a bit more effort”).

Where gokotta stands out, according to Dunne, is that there is real science to back it up — our internal body clocks respond to morning light, she says. This is backed up by research from the Sleep Foundation that shows that, as our internal “circadian” clocks are activated by the early-morning light, so too are the hormones that promote alertness and activity. Early risers are also likely to sleep better in the evening, when our brains respond to darkness.

Surely, though, the Scandis can’t lay claim to early rising as a lifestyle practice? Microsoft’s Bill Gates, who starts the day with exercise and meditation, former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, who rises at dawn to walk his dog, and Vogue editor Anna Wintour, who is famously playing tennis at 5.45am, all attribute their superhuman productivity to an early start.

A few years ago, author Hal Elrod created almost cult followings with his book The Miracle Morning, which suggested six habits that would change your life before 8am. All of which suggests that gokotta is no more than a Swedish

word for a global zeitgeist.

Still, it’s one thing knowing that the secret to success is an early start. It’s another to actually do it. Dunne’s book has many suggested rituals for turning night owls into larks.

Keeping a journal is one. Or you could start a gratitude diary (practising optimism and gratitude has a similar effect on the brain to taking antidepressants, according to Dunne). If the cleansing ritual involving oil pulling (a coconut oil mouthwash) isn’t your thing, or smoke cleansing by burning dried herbs, you can go for a jog, for a dip in the sea or practise restorative yoga.

Or — good news for those of us who don’t necessarily want to start the day by plunging into cold water — you could simply check in with yourself by sitting on your doorstep with a cup of tea or by preparing a nourishing breakfast.

These are just suggestions, of course. A morning ritual can take any form, so long as it is screen-free, according to Arianna Huffington, co-founder of the Huffington Post, who rises early to set her intentions and write a gratitude journal.

The obvious downside to adopting a morning ritual is that you’ll have to get up early. But according to Dunne, you can adapt gokotta to fit your lifestyle: for the time-poor she suggests walking meditations and bed yoga (there are instructions in the book).

Even parents with young children can introduce a morning ritual, she says — although her suggestion of “mindful colouring” might prove optimistic. “Selfcare is never as badly needed as during those early parenting years,” she says. “It might seem impossible, but there are simple ways to fit in that little bit of morning peace.”

The only thing standing in the way of an early riser, says Dunne, is that snooze button, which is why she suggests leaving your alarm in a different room to ensure you have to crawl out of bed to turn it off. If you can master that, she’s certain that your adopted morning ritual can bring luck, confidence and security, plus insulation from the stresses of daily life.

Perhaps, though, we don’t need a Swedish word to confirm a truth universally acknowledged since the 17th century: that the early bird catches the worm.