Ten reasons to HYGGE: 'Hoo-ga' is the Scandinavian lifestyle trend for 'being cosy and content'. And yes, it will make you happier, fitter and slimmer!

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What first springs to mind when you think about Scandinavians? Genetically blessed blondes, pickled fish and a functioning welfare state? Maybe, if you’re lucky enough to know one, it’s our obsession with Midsummer’s Eve.

The annual event when we get together to make our own flower-crowns and gather family and friends around a long table for a meal outdoors, which will inevitably include at least three types of herring and two types of salmon washed down with aquavit.

And now there’s another Nordic cultural staple entering the British public conscience: it’s hygge, and a slew of books about the subject occupy space in the bestseller lists.

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Feel good factor: Sara Malm (right) and friend Hanna in flower-crowns at a London Midsummer's Eve event

So what’s it all about? Well, there’s no direct translation: hygge – pronounced ‘hoo-ga’ – is a Nordic word that describes ‘a feeling of cosiness and content’, and ‘enjoying the good things in life with good people around you’.

For Swedish people like me, the traditional midsummer celebration is the essence of ‘hygge’, but its philosophy goes far beyond an annual lunch in the garden: it is a mentality shared by all Viking descendants.

And there is overwhelming medical evidence that adopting a few of our Nordic ways might just be the health boost you’re looking for…

1 GET OUT OF THAT GYM

Signe Johansen’s new book How To Hygge hails the Nordic people’s love of being in nature as the key to hygge, stating that ‘the outdoors is preferable to the gym every time’.

This is backed up by several studies which have found that those who exercise outdoors are more likely to keep up a consistent routine. Even walking outdoors compared to on a treadmill automatically increases the calorie burn by ten per cent, due to factors such as wind resistance.

Signe Johansen’s new book How To Hygge hails the Nordic people’s love of being in nature as the key to hygge

2 CLEAR YOUR HEAD

Hunting is a popular pastime in Scandinavia, involving a long waiting game where an entire day can be spent sitting alone and completely still in the forest without even seeing an animal, simply breathing and concentrating. This is hygge, too: that feeling of being content, in nature, without breaking a sweat. Research has found that being in a park or forest environment lowers stress levels, increases energy, boosts self-esteem and makes you less angry.

3 THE JOY OF EXERCISE

The hygge view is that being physical – taking exercise – is enjoyable, not a chore. Signe Johansen points out that hygge is about the joy of sport as a group activity. She adds that, as numerous recent studies have proven, a sedentary lifestyle is far more dangerous to our health than being overweight or even smoking. My parents, who turn 60 next year, work out several times a week and go ice-skating, cross-country skiing and walking. Swedish men have a life expectancy of 80.7 years – ranked fourth in the world – with UK males at just 79.4. For women it’s 84 versus 83.

4 ENJOY A FAMILY MEAL

When dining hygge-style, it is ‘the kinship generated through conviviality at the table that really matters’, and the Scandinavians try their best to do sit-down family dinners every day of the week, not just for the Sunday roast. A full-time working week in Sweden is 37.5 hours, and while only one per cent of the country’s employees work overtime, they’re no less productive, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Better Life Index. Having a good work-life balance is key to protecting yourself against the harmful effects of stress.

The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well

5 DE-STRESS WITH COFFEE 

Swedes drink the most coffee per person in the world, followed by Finland, due to the tradition of daily ‘fika’: a break to sit down, enjoy a hot drink and often a sweet pastry or a cinnamon bun. Johansen hails fika as ‘the essence of hygge’, calling it ‘a prime example of a balanced, Nordic philosophy of life’. A 2010 survey of business leaders in 36 countries found that the Swedes, followed by the Danish and the Finnish, were the least stressed.

6 LOWER CHOLESTEROL 

The Nordic diet was all the rage long before hygge hugged the nation, based on the staples of Scandinavian cuisine. A 2013 study found that following a ‘Nordic diet’ of whole-grain products such as Ryvita-style ‘knackebrod’, fish three times a week, root veg, berries, locally sourced fruits such as apples and plums and avoiding sugar-sweetened foods, lowered cholesterol.

7 EAT WHAT YOU LIKE

The mentality of ‘hygge’ means enjoying the good things in life without feeling guilty, including indulging in the food that makes you happy every now and then, be it bacon, beer or cinnamon buns.

Despite this, the proportion of adults in Sweden who are obese is 14 per cent, compared to the UK’s 27 per cent. Out of 34 OECD countries, the UK is the eighth fattest, with the Scandinavian nations way down the list in 23rd (Norway), 25th (Sweden) and 26th (Denmark) place.

8 ...BUT IN MODERATION

The Scandinavians firmly believe in ‘lordagsgodis’ – Saturday Sweets – and allow children to have a small bag of pick-and-mix once a week. It’s ingrained in Scandinavians from childhood that you treat yourself on Saturdays, and then for the rest of the week, excess is off the table. Studies show a treat every now and then can make a person more likely to stick to a diet.

9 SING FOR YOUR SUPPER

Any Brit invited to a Swedish smorgasbord has either looked on in terror – or worse, been forced to join in – as everyone around the table raises their glasses of aquavit (a Scandinavian botanical spirit, like gin, but better) and begins to loudly sing a ‘snapsvisa’ – a drinking song. As Johansen points out in How To Hygge, a spirit of healthy hedonism reigns supreme in Nordic culture, and to the Scandis, aquavit without singing would be like roast dinner without gravy. 

A 2013 study by scientists at Gothenburg University found that singing in unison has similar benefits to yoga. Researchers found that choristers’ heartbeats and breathing synchronise, which helped lung and heart health.

10 BOOST HAPPINESS

It’s a fact: Nordic nations are much happier than the rest. The latest OECD World Happiness Report put Denmark at No 1, Iceland in third, followed by Norway and Finland, way ahead of the UK at 23. 

Given the mass of scientific evidence for the benefits of hygge, I’d say it’s not surprising.

HOW TO TEST FOR THINNING BONES...WITH A CLIPPING OF YOUR TOENAIL

Osentia uses a single toenail clipping to determine the bone health of the user

Britain's first DIY test for the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis will be available from next week, enabling women and men to discover, without visiting a doctor, whether they are at risk of the debilitating condition.

The breakthrough £39.99 Osentia screening kit uses a single toenail clipping to determine the bone health of the user.

Developed by a British scientist, the test has been hailed as a revolution in the fight against the condition that affects three million in the UK, two-thirds of them women.

Osteoporosis affects the bones throughout the body, making them fragile and more likely to break, and worsens over time if untreated.

The disease gives no warning signs, so is often not discovered until a person suffers a painful broken bone.

There is no screening programme for osteoporosis, though hospital-based tests are routinely carried out on the NHS on women over the age of 65 and men over the age of 75, or from age 50 if there are risk factors such as a family history of osteoporosis, a smoking habit, a body mass index (BMI) under 18.5 or if the person is on oral corticosteroid medication.

A private test can cost £200.

The new test requires only a single clipping of a fingernail or toenail. This is put in a small plastic bag, supplied in the kit, and sent to a lab along with a health assessment form. This includes questions on personal health, such as diet, lifestyle, age and exercise.

Tests are carried out on the nail sample to assess the structure of the protein keratin in the nail. This is a key indicator of whether a person is at risk of fragility fractures, weak bones and potential osteoporosis.

A risk profile report is returned via email or post within seven working days.

It shows whether the person is of low, moderate or high risk of suffering a fragility fracture using a ‘traffic light’ system of green, amber or red.

Each result comes with a recommendation of what the next step should be. A letter that can be handed to a doctor is sent out if a person is high-risk.

In a healthy body, bone tissue is constantly renewed, with old cells dying and being replaced by new bone cells.

In osteoporosis sufferers, turn-over slows down to the point where the bone ‘dissolves’ faster than it is formed.

The condition mostly affects women from the age of 40, as menopause slows down production of oestrogen hormones, in turn slowing the bone turnover rate.

Aside from menopause, genetics is the major risk factor. However, poor nutrition, lack of calcium and Vitamin D, smoking, long-term use of anti-inflammatory steroid medication as well as some cancer therapies also increase the risk.

Dr Dawn Harper, doctor on ITV’s This Morning, hailed the new test as a first step in preventing people from suffering fractures by helping them discover the condition at an early stage.

‘Osteoporosis has no symptoms until you break a bone,’ said the 53-year-old TV medic, who also works as an NHS GP.

‘Bones can be very thin and still appear normal on an X-ray. This test flags up those at risk before a break and can be taken to a GP so a proper bone scan can be carried out.’

Half of women and one in five men over the age of 50 experience fragility fractures, amounting to about 300,000 every year, and it is estimated they will cost the NHS £2.2 billion by 2025.

The Osentia test is now set to appear in pharmacies following trials across the UK and Ireland.

It was developed by British scientist Dr Mark Towler, who began investigating the link between keratin in nails and osteoporosis after observations by sufferers that a positive side effect from treatment was stronger nails.

He discovered that people with osteoporosis had a lower level of disulphide bond – the chemical in the body needed to bind keratin molecules – in their nails.

The new test will be available from tomorrow online from superdrug.com and will be in high street pharmacies across the country from next year.

• Osentia.co.uk