Why Millennial Women Need To Adopt The Hygge Trend Right Now

You wake up at 6:00 AM and immediately roll over and grab your phone to check your texts, email, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook, and the news. You rush to work, eating on the go (if you’re even lucky enough to have time to eat anything), spend a day frantically hacking away at your projects, and return home with barely enough time to get to the gym, have a shower, and find a decently healthy dinner to scarf down before tackling your other responsibilities. When you finally head to bed, you set your iPhone alarm to 6:00 AM again, already preparing yourself for an equally busy day tomorrow.

Does this sound like you? If you’re nodding your head, then you need hygge. 

According to the New Yorker, 2017 is the year of hygge, the Danish obsession with getting cozy. Hygge, pronounced “hueguh,” is a way of life popularized by Scandinavian culture that focuses on a healthy hedonism to boost levels of happiness. Examples of hygge include slow-paced meals consisting of comfort foods like roast beef and mashed potatoes, simple pleasures like biting into a warm cinnamon bun, cozying up and reading your favourite novel while a fire flickers in the background, or sharing a relaxing cup of coffee with your friends or family. In a nutshell, hygge means taking a break from the fast-paced nature of modern life and taking a moment to simply enjoy living. And that’s why millennial women need to start incorporating it into their lives right now. 

The modern millennial woman is faced with a barrage of stress from the moment she wakes up through to the end of her day. We constantly have social media nipping at our heels for attention, our days are spent working as hard as possible to move forward in our careers while fighting for gender equality in the workforce, and most of us are plagued by a lingering anxiety about the future of women’s rights at the hands of one of the most backwards and bigoted U.S. presidents in history; to make life even busier, many millennials have been forced to adopt a “millennial side-hustle,” a second job so that we can afford to support ourselves. The pressures of modern life have convinced us that even taking a moment to breathe means falling behind in the race to fulfillment and success, and this mindset simply isn’t healthy.

Not only is our modern mentality of rushing emotionally, mentally, and physically draining, it contributes to a myriad of health problems: rates of depression, anxiety, and eating disorders have been steadily increasing, while the numbers of people suffering from physical ailments like obesity are higher than they’ve ever been before. This is not to say that hygge is a substitute for therapy and medication for mental disorders or exercise and healthy diet for problems like obesity, but adopting the mindset of hygge and therefore taking time to intentionally reward your body and mind for the hard work both do every day can certainly detract from some of the more serious implications of these health problems. To find evidence of hygge’s restorative powers, we need to look no further than the Danes, the inventors of hygge. 

Denmark, although located far enough north in the Northern Hemisphere to be a hotspot for Seasonal Affective Disorder, a seasonal depression that accompanies the cold and dark days of winter for at least half of each year, has been officially ranked as the world’s happiest country. If, according to man’s biological need for sunlight and warmth and its correlation with happiness, this makes no physical sense, then what are the Danish doing that makes them so happy? 

As it turns out, a big happiness booster for our Scandinavian friends lies in their appreciation for coziness. A regular enjoyment of simple pleasures like homemade meals, time spent with friends and family, and warm, inviting living spaces decorated with fuzzy throw blankets and comfortable furniture has had such a positive impact on the lives of the Danish that it has improved the happiness levels of the entire nation, and even awarded hygge its own page on the official Danish tourism website. This shows us that to boost your own levels of happiness, you don’t need to start a new intense exercise regime or diet, or turn yourself into a Buddha-loving yogi overnight (although these are definitely great lifestyle changes to make, they can really throw a wrench into your daily routine, not to mention social life): you simply need to give yourself some time to relax, even if it’s only a couple of minutes a day, and, to quote Parks and Recreation’s Donna and Tom, treat yo’self. 

So now that we know what hygge is and how it improves happiness in the Danish, we still have one question to answer: how does the modern, busy woman incorporate hygge into her own hectic life? Here are just a few ways that you can start becoming the strong, independent, hyggelige woman you’re destined to become: 

Invest in a nice candle or two. Nothing is more easily hygge than the warm glow of a comforting candle, which will instantly add an element of coziness to your home. My favourite candle to light when I’m feeling particularly hyggelig is the tobacco and patchouli paddywax candle from Urban Outfitters, but any candle that makes you feel cozy will do! 

Give yourself an extra twenty minutes in the morning to have your tea or coffee while reading a novel, magazine or newspaper. This extra time will allow you to enjoy your caffeine boost of choice infinitely more than if you were to chug it on the go, which would not be very hyggeligt. Bonus points if you wait to check your phone until after your morning cup of joe. 

Do you have a favourite baked good from your local coffee shop or bakery? Make a habit of having your favourite muffin or cookie once a week to give yourself a treat to look forward to! Enjoying the little things in life is a big part of the hygge mentality, and treating yourself to your favourite sweet snack is a great way to add some hygge to your day. 

Invite your friends or family over for a relaxing meal or game of cards. Maintaining positive relationships is a big part of hygge, and an enjoyable game night or dinner party provides a great opportunity to appreciate your friends while taking a break from the stresses of your daily routine. 

If you work at an office, consider buying an easy-to-maintain plant or two for a workstation garden! Succulents are a great choice for people who don’t have a big green thumb, as they’re super easy to take care of and they provide a bit of natural beauty to look at while you’re working, adding a spot of hygge to your desk. 

Now that you’ve learned some easy and simple ways to add a sprinkle of hygge into your life, go channel your inner Dane and put on your favourite pair of fuzzy socks, light a candle or two, and try practicing some cozy calmness for a few minutes today. If you’re one of the millions of millennial women working like crazy, you deserve a little break. Your mental and emotional well-being will thank you.