Even office lunches in Denmark are often eaten with other people, strangers or not. Sharing a warm meal with proper cutlery and a proper conversation is how the Danes dine.Eating a cold sandwich alone at your desk would be considered weird and unhealthy.Because it is.Food is joy, not an afterthought.

Eating With Others

Danish design is famous for its straight lines, natural materials, light tones, and uncomplicated patterns. Their living rooms are bright and de-cluttered.Because clutter equals stress.The same goes for brain clutter which we have so much of in the U.S.That’s why Danish minimalism goes beyond furniture. Both simplicity of life and simplicity of mind is important to Danes. Less of everything means more time, space, and energy to actually enjoy life.

The Danish: Minimalists By Nature

<ul><li>Scandinavians are obsessed with fresh air.</li><li>In Denmark, it starts with birth, when babies are left to sleep outside in their prams even in colder months (and they have so many of those!).</li><li>Danish kindergartens make sure the kids spent a lot (if not most) of their day outside, rain or shine.</li><li>Children have all of their classes outside in nature.</li><li>Rain or snow, they bike to work, even if covered in special head-to-toe gear. They walk and bathe in temperatures most Americans would find unacceptable, too.</li><li>Because healthy body equals healthy mind.</li><li>And fresh air stimulates both.</li></ul>

Get Out In Fresh Air

A Dane will never cross the road at a red light, even if there are no cars in sight. Life is just more predictable that way. The key to this system though is that everyone in the country is under a silent obligation to do the same.Following the written and unwritten rules of society has a greater effect on our well-being than we ever consider.

Follow The Rules

<ul><li>Denmark has very little bureaucracy and almost no paperwork. Every transaction is electronic and streamlined to a minimum. The country is as efficient as it gets.</li><li>You can call it electronic minimalism and, as with regular minimalism, it declutters your life and saves your time, both things that can contribute to your happiness levels.</li><li>While cancelling bureaucracy in the U.S. seems impossible, there are ways to utilise technologies and make your life that much simpler and happier for it.</li></ul>

No Red Tape Or Slow Government Work

<ul><li>Danes are obsessed with mood lighting.</li><li>It’s like the whole country agreed to wage a war on bright hospital lighting so favored in the U.S.</li><li>It all starts with hygge — a Danish word that roughly translates as coziness and is a way of life in Denmark.</li><li>There’s nothing a Dane likes more than having a “cozy” home, corner, dinner, or a “cozy time.” There’s little that can’t be described as “cozy” or “un-cozy” in Denmark. And bright lights are definitely that.</li></ul>

Dimming The Lights

<ul><li>The city streets are filled with smokers: mothers pushing strollers, old ladies, teenagers, you name it.</li><li>No one seemed to care or notice.</li><li>Same with drinking. No one cared if you drank at home, in the street, or in the office on a Friday night.</li><li>People lived and let others live. And what a happy way to be it is.</li></ul>

Drink and Smoke if You Want To

<ul><li>Nearly 60% of people in Copenhagen commute by bicycle every day.</li><li>Danes are obsessed with bikes and often come first in the world’s most bike-friendly cities and nations lists, followed by Netherlands.</li><li>World’s-leading biking infrastructure means that in Denmark, bikes have their own roads, not just lanes, stretching along the main roads, with dedicated traffic signals and rules enforced by police.</li><li>Biking is a serious business in Denmark. And Danes are surely happier and healthier for it.</li></ul>

More Biking

<ul><li>Denmark has some of the world’s highest taxes and prices for consumer goods and services. That’s why Danes eat home whenever possible.</li><li>This means less processed foods and a more relaxing atmosphere when consuming your meals.</li><li>A dinner with family or friends will always be more important to a Dane than a fancy meal out.</li><li>They have big dining tables at home that seat eight or even ten people.</li></ul>

More Cooking

We can't all move to Denmark but we can learn from the Danes how to live happier. 
I did. And I returned to the U.S. with a new perspective on  life (and a Danish husband in tow).