The effects on the body

Winter depression is a thing, especially in the Arctic they call it ‘seasonal depression’ and locals seem to have accepted it pretty well, in fact, they enter into a period of hibernation. After two months of darkness, people lose control of the time, napping 6 times per day, forgetting to change their pyjama, staying awake the whole ‘night’, and others spending hours at the pub.

During my first polar night season, I started to fall into these unhealthy habits, giving up on myself. I felt very unmotivated, always tired, and depressed. But, at heart, I am a restless soul, and I felt bad to waste my time, instead of using it to do something more productive. After some time, I finally found a way to avoid ‘hibernation’, which requires a lot of self-determination.

How to avoid winter depression?

It’s very simple if you are a motivated person, it’s called — ROUTINE! With the beginning of the darkness, you start to lose the track of time, therefore following a strict schedule can help you to stay focused and be productive. I took advantage of the spare time and lack of distraction, to do things that I usually don’t do — like going to the gym (which also helps to produce endorphins), preparing healthy meals, starting a blog, doing sauna, and improving social media.

This system helped me a lot to survive the long winter, and I clearly saw the results! Even though I was struggling less than other people, I still felt some effects on my body, that are inevitable. I felt constantly tired, due to the lack of sun and Vitamin D. I got visible dark circles under my eyes, impossible to hide, even with kilos of makeup. The most important thing not to do is to sleep during the day, even when it’s tempting, otherwise, your biological rhythm is messed up, and you are gonna stay awake the whole night.

People buy Vitamin-D supplements in the grocery shop, and in the Nordic countries, they also add Vitamin-D in milk, cheese, yoghurts and in juices. I also saw that they sell an alarm that emulates the sun rising, and of course, it was always sold out! But, no matter how much you try, nothing can replace the benefits of the real sun.

When the sun starts to come back, and the snow storms ease down, it feels like life is starting again, and people can’t wait to spend as much time outside as they can, and take the first rays of the sun. Locals in the winter go cross-country skiing, and I love snow-shoeing.

Drinking culture in the North

To say Norwegians don’t party hard would be like saying that taxes are only a little high in Norway, It would be quite an understatement! In Norway, drinking tends to start at a pretty young age (between 13-14 yo). Generally, this is accepted by society and in some cases even encouraged, using drinking games as means of socialization. This gives them an easy framework for interacting with each other.

While in Italy we enjoy alcohol as a ‘tasting experience’, with an ‘aperitivo’ on the terrace, or a glass of red wine during meals, in Norway there is no better storytelling than a drunk person in the pub. With the cost of alcohol in Norway so high, there’s a local expression that covers Norwegians’ approach to drinking quite well — “being half drunk is a waste of money”. So in Norway, they don’t go halfway when it comes to drinking, more like all the way down. The price for a cocktail at the pub starts from €12, and half a litre of beer is € 9,5.

‘Vorspiel’ and ‘Nachspiel’

Before heading to the pub, Norwegians do a pre-party — ‘vorspiel’. One must try to get as loaded as possible at home first to avoid racking up a sky-high bill at the bar. It’s also a social aspect, nordic people usually need a few drinks to get started. It allows them to loosen up a bit and be open to doing really crazy things, like talking to a stranger or buying a bunch of bitcoin. After being at the pub, they continue with ‘nachspiel’ — the after-party, usually in someone’s apartment.

Alcohol prohibition in Norway

In Norway, the government-owned alcohol retailer Vinmonopolet is the only company that can sell beverages containing an alcohol content higher than 4.75 per cent. Only low-alcohol drinks are available in regular supermarkets and convenience stores, but only for a limited time: during weekdays until 8 PM; at the weekends until 6 PM. These strict laws are in place to prevent alcoholism and the negative health effects of heavy drinking on health. Despite the high efforts in alcohol prohibition, the consumption of alcohol in Norway increased in the last few years — reaching a volume of 98 litres per capita in 2021.

‘‘On Sundays, we don’t work’

Good luck in finding something open on a Sunday. Restaurants, bakeries, cafés, shopping malls, and grocery shops are always closed on Sundays, and the city of Honningsvåg transforms into a ghost town. One reason is that locals spend the weekends in their cabins —(holiday homes). At times it can get frustrating, especially when people are off, and there’s not much else to do, the only option is to enjoy nature!

Mental health

In the Nordic countries, people are very open-minded to talking about mental health problems, unlike in southern Europe. In Italy, depression, anxiety, and more severe issues are still considered a tabu, and people rather hide them, instead of sharing them with other people. In the North, from primary school to university, schools offer daily free therapy. Definitely, an approach to take an example from.

Nordic education system

Norway boasts some of the best schools and higher education in the world. Attending public universities in this country is tuition-free, even for international students! This is because Norway believes that everyone should have access to education regardless of socioeconomic background. The Norwegian school system can be divided into three parts: Elementary school (Barneskole, ages 6–13), lower secondary school (Ungdomsskole, ages 13–16), and upper secondary school (Videregående skole, ages 16–19).

The Nordic education system, focuses more on practice, rather than theory, involving students with outdoor activities, essays, projects, and class presentations. In Italy, we have the most ancient school system, where teachers speak the whole time on the blackboard, and students have to listen and seat on the same chair for many hours. As the results show, a very unproductive method! Moreover, in the North, they rather let students have a lot of free time to discover their passions, rather than bombarding them with homework. I really hope, those other countries can advance and take an example from the Nordic education system, which shows to be more effective, and the perfect preparation to approach students to work life.