For the last few years, Denmark has been the happiest or one of the happiest countries in the world. The Danish attribute their happiness to Hygge.
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What Is Hygge?
Hygge, (pronounced hoo-gah) is a word that can loosely be translated as ‘being in a state of cosiness or comfort’. Think of sitting by the fire with some treats, and that’s hygge. The word’s origin is Norwegian, but the Danes have made it their own. While hygge is a verb, hyggeligt is used to describe something that helps you achieve hygge. In Denmark, it’s a great compliment to say to your host that your evening with them was hyggeligt.
How Can I Create Hygge?
Meik Wiking, a Danish expert on happiness and author of ‘The Little Book of Hygge’, explains that the elements that go into creating hygge are quite simple.
Treating yourself is the key – food and drink that hyggeligt include cake, coffee and sweets. Lighting plays an important part – particularly light from candles.
Warm decor and wooden flooring helps make a home hyggeligt. Natural colours and textures for the soft furnishings, coupled with white, dark or black laminate flooring are good ways of creating the effect. You also want to ensure that during the colder months your home is warm and cosy as this adds to an overall sense of wellbeing. You can achieve this by having an Electric Underfloor Heating Gloucestershire company such as https://parsonsflooring.com/services/electric-under-floor-heating/ put inn flooriing that will provide warmth froom beneath your feet. Having lots of pillows and blankets around can also help to create this cosy feel and are especially useful in the evenings when you can curl up underneath them with the family and watch a film together or perhaps each immerse yourself in the world of your favourite books. Spending time together as a family is invaluable, especially as your children are growing up.
But hygge isn’t just about cocooning yourself in a cosy spot. The best way to hygge is with your family or friends, indoors or outdoors. It’s about achieving the state of cosiness – physically, socially and emotionally. It is thought that this can help to improve both your mental and physical health as a feeling of safety and warmth can help with a number of conditions such as anxiety and depression as it allows you the space to then work on what is making you feel this way. The Danes, it seems, have got it right.