5 Scandinavian secrets for a healthier lifestyle

2025-08-06 18:53:00, Shëndeti CNA

The United Nations has released its World Happiness Report again this year. It includes a ranking of 156 member countries ranked by the happiness of their citizens: Scandinavian countries dominate the podium and seem to have something to teach everyone else.

In particular, we have often heard about the Lagom lifestyle, defined as the Swedish answer to the Danish trend called Hygge, which focuses on all those moments full of familiarity, warmth, harmony and companionship.

1. Be positive.

The concept of Lagom is based on a proud opposition to excess and a rejection of originality at all costs, hence the first, fundamental advice that the Swedish lifestyle offers us: balance as a true goal, "sufficiency" as the ultimate goal, to eradicate the myth of being content as a negative trend. To know how to capture something positive in every situation, to be able to learn from every experience, to aspire to live justly and in harmony with the world.

5 Scandinavian secrets for a healthier lifestyle

2. The importance of exercise and sleep

Although it is an internal state, the Lagom philosophy consists of many concrete applications. The second piece of advice he gives us is to find time for both exercise and rest, both activities that clear the mind and help us face daily life with a positive spirit. Finding time to relax, to enjoy small joys or to create a corner of peace to recharge, are all different solutions to get away from the anxieties or worries of work or family. The Lagom lifestyle focuses a lot on the concept of the "ritual", a simple activity that we dedicate ourselves to in order to try to capture our deepest needs and live more consciously.

3. Sustainability and the environment

The third piece of advice, and one of the pillars of the Lagom philosophy, is to recognize the importance of recycling: knowing how to reuse and give new life to used objects, but also repurposing old furniture or things with creativity, imagination and taste. Everything in the Lagom lifestyle is based on sustainability, energy saving and the use of materials that respect the environment, and this also applies to fashion: how to proceed with a purchase?

5 Scandinavian secrets for a healthier lifestyle

4. Simple, but functional

Lagom means harmony, moderation, utility and versatility, and all these indicators also apply to the home, to which the fourth piece of advice from Swedish philosophy applies: choose functional and logical furniture. The well-known furniture brand Ikea has dedicated an entire line of furniture to Lagom, characterized by simple and clean lines, respecting only the priority given to practicality, comfort and resistance.

5 Scandinavian secrets for a healthier lifestyle

5. Imperfection is beauty

The final piece of advice that Swedish philosophy gives us is to abandon the (unattainable) goal of perfection: there is nothing more frustrating than aspiring to something unattainable. The miracle lies in the middle ground, in the moments of inaccuracies and imperfections that characterize our lives, in moments of forgetfulness and freedom. Once we have recognized the subjective dimensions that allow us to achieve a balance, it is up to us to defend that space by focusing on small steps. True happiness is knowing how to immerse yourself in your life with joy and to maintain the strength to face each day with calm, living and working with harmony, simplicity and awareness. /CNA