Reading, sweating, porridge: the Finnish recipe for happiness

And what it means for politics and polarisation

Would you prefer to spend winter in Finland or the south of France? An old friend who lives in Provence surprised me by saying she might consider moving to Finland when her kids leave home. I thought she was joking, but I can see the appeal now that I’ve visited Helsinki.

I asked my friend from France who raved about Finland for sightseeing tips when I was in the city to run a workshop for newsroom leaders. I was expecting recommendations for art galleries, restaurants or historical buildings. But she suggested I visit the central library. I was sceptical but an icy wind was blowing when I got to the main station, and the library was close so I headed straight there.

The pine clad building is open to everyone. The library describes itself as “everyone’s shared living room”. There are no barriers at the entrance or requirement to register for a library card to get in. I walked in off the street and could immediately take a book off the shelves and sit down and start reading it. Nobody paid any attention to a muttering homeless guy shuffling around.

Even the bathroom had an open vibe: gender-neutral cubicles with translucent glass doors are arranged around an open courtyard of wash basins bathed in pastel light. There are three floors of humming activity. The warm wooden furnishings and quiet buzz in every nook and cranny make the building feel like a beehive.

Teenagers huddled round laptops doing homework. An older group sat nearby, knitting together, colourful yarn pooling around their feet. Sewing machines and 3D printers are available for creative projects, and young people strum guitars in sound-proofed music rooms. On the top floor, there are shelves of books in 23 languages, as well as magazines and board games to borrow under an undulating ceiling resembling clouds. I took a book of short stories and settled into a comfy chair on a slope that gives you a view over the room. A Ukrainian author was presenting her book to a small audience, while a pair of young girls counted their coins to buy sweets in the library café. I treated myself to a piece of lemon meringue pie.

The Oodi (ode in Finnish) library cost almost 100 million euros and was opened in 2018 to commemorate 100 years of Finnish independence from Russia. It is part of a vibrant network of 800 libraries across Finland, that lend out 85 million items per year to a population of just over 5 million.

The Oodi library in Helskinki

The Oodi feels like a temple to the “assume the best” philosophy I have promoted in this newsletter, showing the power of trust, education and equality to create community and belonging. It is also a monument to the power of reading.

Finland and Denmark are the only countries in the OECD where adult literacy and numeracy have not declined or stagnated over the past decade. In many countries, the least educated saw the biggest decline in literacy skills and they fell more among men than women.

In the UK, only 50% of UK adults now read regularly for pleasure, down from 58% in 2015, according to a survey by The Reading Agency.

Books boost self-esteem

The survey also showed that those who read for pleasure report higher levels of self-esteem and ability to cope with difficult situations, while non-readers are 28% more likely to report feelings of depression.

Perhaps it is no surprise that bookworm Finland has topped the list of the world’s happiest countries for seven successive years.

"Finnish society is permeated by a sense of trust, freedom, and high level of autonomy," said Jennifer De Paola, a happiness researcher at the University of Helsinki.

De Paola said a close connection to nature and healthy work-life balance contribute to happiness as well as the strong welfare system, low levels of corruption and free healthcare and education. She believes Finns have a "more attainable understanding of what a successful life is," compared to places like the United States where success is often equated with financial gain.

Happier people less likely to back Trump

European countries like Finland that score highly for happiness also show lower support for Trump. Researchers who produce the World Happiness Report say that there has been a rise in worry, sadness and anger all over the world since 2010 and note that this seems to correlate with the rise in support for populist parties.

However, not everything is rosy in Finland, which is plagued by racism, prompting an unfortunate recent meme on social media.

And the country elected a far-right government in 2023 that is currently cutting generous spending on public services. Those cuts are also being felt at the Finnish public broadcaster where I was delivering my workshop. But I was struck by the sense of resilience there. At the start of my workshops, I often ask participants to estimate their energy levels between 0 and 100%. All the Finnish participants said they were above 50 percent despite the pressures of their jobs, and the dark winter.

(A quick aside, I would like to welcome my new subscribers who joined after they heard me share my views on newsroom leadership in this podcast!)

Danes have Hygge, Finns prefer Sisu

While the Danes and Norwegians have become famous for cultivating cosy spaces or “Hygge” to get through the winter, the Finns are renowned for their “Sisu”, which roughly translates as strength, perseverance and dignity in the face of adversity, particularly on show during the winter war against the Soviet Union in 1939-40.

The sun is only just up at midday in Helsinki

While snuggling up with a book helps Finns deal with the darkness, they also embrace the cold and make sure to get outside when it is light, whatever the weather, so Finnish schools have a 15 minute break every hour, and many people enjoy ice swimming. Of course, it helps that they have saunas to warm up in afterwards – at least two million of them. I was told by a pink Finnish woman in the hotel sauna that the tradition dates back millennia and has many health benefits.

I have embraced both of these this winter – joining a group of “ice dippers” every Saturday morning and taking as many saunas as possible. Touch wood, both practices seem to be living up to their reputation for boosting immunity – despite constant coughs in my family, I have so far made it through the winter without a cold. And they are definitely helping keep my mood up despite the dark state of the world. I have also adopted the Finnish practice of covering my morning porridge with a berry compote, seeds and granola. Take that, Scotland!

I tried to replicate a bit of the Oodi vibe at a creative networking event I hosted in Berlin and I have also set up a book club after many years of procrastination. Here are my top books of 2024. Share your recommendations in the comments!