Her friends could hardly believe it when Kari Leibowitz told them she was moving to the Arctic.
As a PhD student, she traveled to the northernmost university in the world – Tromsø, Norway – to study how mindset can affect our health.
Unlike the Jersey Shore – where she was brought up – Tromsø’s winter lasts up to eight months and, between November and January, it is plunged into almost complete darkness.
This period is known as the Polar Night.
Until then, she’d been a lifelong lover of all things summer – from days on the beach, to ice-creams on the boardwalk and festivals under the stars.
Winter, on the other hand, was her most hated season. So much so that, as a high school senior, she would refuse to drive her little brother to class until he had first heated her car to a required toasty temperature every morning.
‘I was drawn to the Arctic to try to understand how people who live through some of the darkest winters on Earth cope with the season,’ she writes in her book How To Winter.
She assumed, of course, that the long winters had a negative effect on people’s mental well-being. But what she discovered was that the seasons had very little impact.
Kari was a lifelong lover of all things summer, and dreaded the onset of winter
Between November and January, Tromsø is plunged into almost complete darkness – the Polar Night
Ice on a pier in Tromsø, Norway – the temperatures can drop to as low as 5 degrees during Polar Night
In fact, as she studied how people all over the world respond to cold, dark climates – traveling to Copenhagen, Finland, Reykjavík, Scotland, Amsterdam and Japan – she discovered a uniquely positive wintertime mindset.
In the process, she fell in love with winter herself.
‘At its best,’ she writes, ‘winter conjures images of cozy snow days and hot chocolate with marshmallows. Reading in front of the fireplace with a dog in your lap, skiing from rustic lodges, sledding at top speeds, and snowball fights.’
But she acknowledges that, for many of us, the reality is much less romantic – featuring endless mornings de icing your windshield, harsh winds, dark, gray days, driving sleet, and runny noses.
‘The darkness can make us feel sluggish and tired, unable to focus. Cold, wet weather discourages outdoor activity and movement, further compounding our lethargy. We might feel less social, less like our best selves,’ she writes.
‘Winter is associated with death. In poetry, literature, and metaphor, winters are harsh, fallow periods. The antithesis of goodness, light, and growth. Colorless seasons, robbed of joy.’
And yet she found the residents of Tromsø actively looked forward to winter.
‘There, despite the long, dark, cold winters, these Northerners find joy, comfort and excitement in the season.
‘Those who appreciate winter generally orient toward the season’s wonders: coziness and gathering around a fire, crisp air and starry skies, slowed-down rituals and a chance for rest.
‘For people with this mindset, winter is not a limiting time of year to dread but a time full of opportunity to anticipate.
‘Look at winter for what it is, and let it be a time for slowing down,’ advises Kari
Tromsø boasts the northernmost university in the world, 217 miles north of the Arctic Circle
Despite the long, dark, cold winters, these Northerners find joy, comfort and excitement in the season
‘In Norway, I learned that we are not condemned to waste the winter months, throwing away the season, wishing for spring. We can change our mindsets and, as a result, change our experience of winter – and of our lives.’
This is how we can do it.
Appreciate winter
‘Look at winter for what it is, and let it be a time for slowing down,’ she advises.
Mark daylight savings on the calendar and start to anticipate the pleasures to come: sweater weather, hot cocoa, maybe ice skating.
‘By registering the onset of winter as a real event, we elevate it in our hearts and minds,’ she says.
It also helps us focus on the positive elements of the season instead of the negatives.
In the week following the clock change, she also advises reducing your meetings schedule, after-work activities, or children’s commitments – accepting that you’re going to feel ‘out of whack’.
It gives you something to look forward to as well.
Preparation for the season could also include changing towels and other decor for a more autumnal theme, and generally building a comforting nest for the months ahead.
Take naps when needed – or at least resting – without shame, taking our cue from the natural world, where animals hibernate and plants enjoy a freeze cycle.
She quotes Katherine May’s memoir, Wintering, saying: ‘Plants and animals don’t fight the winter; they don’t pretend it’s not happening and attempt to carry on the same lives that they lived in the summer.
‘They prepare. They adapt. They perform extraordinary acts of metamorphosis to get them through.
The boot room at the University Centre in Svalbard – having the right outdoor clothing is essential to surviving winter
Kari urges ‘proactively pursuing peace’ doing things like knitting – a la Kristin Davis during time out filming Sex And The City
How to Winter: Harness Your Mindset to Thrive on Cold, Dark, or Difficult Days by Kari Leibowitz PhD is published by Penguin Life
‘But that’s where the transformation occurs. Once we stop wishing it were summer, winter can be a glorious season in which the world takes on a sparse beauty and even the pavements sparkle.
‘It’s a time for reflection and recuperation, for slow replenishment, for putting your house in order.’
Make it special
‘Lean into the activities and feelings that are unique to this time of year,’ writes Kari.
‘Revel in coziness, enjoy delights made possible by winter’s darkness, and create and savor rituals that imbue the season with meaning.’
She urges ‘proactively pursuing peace’, whatever that means to you – puzzling, knitting, taking baths, baking, reading, meditating, painting – by making time to enjoy them at least once a day.
Make a nightly ritual of turning off your big, harsh, overhead lights and replacing them with small lamps, twinkle lights and candles.
And prioritize cozy traditions like Sunday roasts or Shabbat dinners, dumplings, comfort foods and warming drinks.
‘If you love parties and socializing,’ she writes, ‘you can host dinners, organize a book club, or arrange a soup-swap. If you love baking, you can branch out and bake something new, or make Valentine’s cookies for family, friends, and coworkers.’
Tromsø has an outdoors film festival in January every year, while residents celebrate the Sami culture in February, with activities including a reindeer race.
‘The key is to make it special: whether by yourself or with family or friends, make it a real plan and give yourself something to anticipate.’
Get outside
‘Layer up and enjoy the outdoors in all weather, experiment with winter bathing, and take advantage of the ways your town or city celebrates the season,’ says Kari.
This requires dressing for the weather you have, not the weather you hope for. So invest in a great coat and waterproof boots, pile on the extra layers, and brave the elements.
David is a fan of winter bathing – one of the winter pastimes recommended to help beat the blues
Make your outdoor activities social by inviting a friend for a walk… or even a bonfire
Outdoors activities are proven to boost the mood – Kari even tried an ice plunge
Even an extra 15 minutes outside – sitting on the stoop drinking your morning coffee or taking a quick walk around the block at lunchtime – can have a significant impact on your mood and energy.
Make it social by inviting a friend for a walk or hike, a cycle or even a bonfire.
And think about the fun things you like to do in summer: going for a picnic, or beachcombing. Now try it in winter. Most activities can be done in all seasons when you have the right clothing.
Interestingly, as we learn to embrace winter, she says it can also make us better equipped to deal with the other dark, difficult seasons in life.
‘How do we respond to situations out of our control?’ she asks. ‘How do we react to circumstances we did not choose?
‘Do we shrink and wither, or do we turn inward with intention and cultivate moments of joy? Do we focus on frustration, or do we seek wonder and connection to get us through?
‘And, most important, which mindsets are motivating us, consciously or unconsciously? Are our mindsets holding us back or propelling us forward?’
Winter, she says, is more than just a season in nature. ‘Winters — times of challenge, struggle, or grief — can come into our communities, our homes, and our lives in unexpected ways and at unexpected times.
‘The strategies I observed in my research on how people around the world uplift winter can help us weather any storm — snow or otherwise.
‘The same practices that help us embrace and enjoy winter can also help us through difficult seasons of life.’
How to Winter: Harness Your Mindset to Thrive on Cold, Dark, or Difficult Days by Kari Leibowitz PhD is published by Penguin Life
