Helpful Tips with Dr. Gary Soffer: Hygge

December 04, 2020

Information

Dr. Gary Soffer discusses hygge. Hygge is a Danish word used when acknowledging a feeling or moment, whether alone or with friends, at home or out, ordinary or extraordinary as cozy, charming or special.

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00:00Hi everybody, this is Doctor Soffer
00:02again so I want to talk to you today
00:06about a concept called Hugga Hugga.
00:09I'm probably pronouncing it wrong
00:11but it's spelled HYGGE Hyuga and this
00:14is a concept from Denmark and it's
00:16really all about creating a nice
00:19comfortable atmosphere for yourself.
00:20You know, cozying up with a warm
00:23mug or curling up with a nice
00:26blanket and a good book an really
00:28just creating that all getting.
00:31All five senses an giving yourself a space of
00:34comfort so so much about your environment.
00:37What you see, what you smell,
00:40what you hear you know what you
00:42taste is important to healing.
00:44It's as important as anything else.
00:47And we know this in medicine.
00:48So really cool study came out about
00:5130 years ago that really shifted
00:53our perspective on this and what?
00:55What it did was it took patients
00:57who had hospital bedrooms and some
00:59bedrooms had trees outside with wind,
01:02beautiful windows of trees outside
01:04and some bedrooms had a window
01:06just facing a brick wall.
01:08And what they found was,
01:09was that the patients who
01:11were looking up on the trees.
01:14We're using less pain medication
01:15left the hospital earlier,
01:17an overall their nurses just like them
01:19more so we know that something as simple
01:22as that is what we see can really,
01:25really change how we heal.
01:28You know,
01:28we also know that things like music can
01:31reduce stress and the release dopamine,
01:34and endorphins and serotonin.
01:36All these good feeling neurotransmitters
01:38into our brain that help us.
01:40So things like music and stimulating
01:42the senses in a really good way.
01:45So why did Hyuga come about?
01:47So it comes from the word hook rogue.
01:50Again,
01:50I'm probably really pronouncing that wrong,
01:53but it means creating a corner for yourself,
01:56creating a space for yourself an.
01:58In Denmark,
01:59you know there's much shorter days,
02:01you know the sun goes down quite a bit
02:05earlier and they need to find ways to
02:08really make themselves feel better so.
02:11Even though we have longer days
02:13in the United States.
02:15We're all stuck in this pandemic.
02:17We're all stuck inside with
02:19unnatural lighting and we're seeking
02:21out ways to make ourselves feel
02:23comfortable that aren't always in
02:25the most productive ways possible.
02:27So we're reading eating highly
02:28color dense foods.
02:29We're doing lots of online shopping.
02:32We're bingeing and streaming,
02:33you know, the latest TV show.
02:35And while these make us feel good in the
02:38moment, they're not sustainable there.
02:40Not helping us for the long term,
02:43so.
02:43What's so nice about Hyuga is is that
02:46we can really focus on sustainable
02:49ways to just make ourselves feel
02:52better and shifting our environment.
02:55So I like to think about it in our senses.
02:58How do we?
02:59How do we stimulate our senses?
03:01So let's think about site first.
03:03So site first and foremost,
03:05the environment that you're
03:06creating for yourself.
03:08So a lot of unnatural lighting is in healthy,
03:11so try to get yourself close
03:12to a window with
03:14good natural lighting.
03:15You know, having that flashing TV
03:17on is it feels good momentarily,
03:19but it's probably not doing
03:21so good for your brain.
03:23So maybe turn even turning
03:25down the lights a little bit.
03:27Creating a nice warm
03:29environment for yourself.
03:30Smell so lighting a scented candle
03:33or burning some incense. You know,
03:36people really do find lavender and bergamot.
03:39Those essential oils really, really calming.
03:42So create a nice.
03:45Smell for your environment.
03:48So touch touch is really important,
03:50so find your most comfortable clothing.
03:52You know, instead of putting it on lazily,
03:55because we're bored and because
03:57we're not leaving the house,
03:58dude intentionally say to yourself,
04:00I'm putting on my most comfortable sweater.
04:02I'm putting on my most
04:05comfortable sweatpants.
04:06Excuse me And find yourself
04:11a blanket and nice warm,
04:13cozy blanket that you can snuggle up to.
04:16So we went through touch, smell,
04:18sight and let's think about taste.
04:21So finding yourself a nice
04:23herbal decaffeinated tea,
04:24you know my favorite is ginger lemon
04:27honey tea with some fresh ginger,
04:29lemon buying from some local honey,
04:32local honey purveyors and also thinking
04:35about those warming foods that we see.
04:37And I are veda.
04:39You know with winter coming all
04:41of these root vegetables are
04:43showing up in our markets and
04:46showing up in our farmers markets.
04:49And I really want you to
04:51think about purchasing them,
04:52because in the IRA Vedic tradition
04:55in the Indian medicine tradition,
04:57these are really considered warming foods.
04:59And then finally thinking about listening,
05:01you know.
05:02Who get is a great opportunity to be in a
05:07social environment in a social situation,
05:10but in a much more comfortable way so.
05:14Listening to people talking to people,
05:16having these conversations,
05:18turning off the TV.
05:20That's so that's going to be so so important.
05:23And if you're alone putting on some good,
05:26soothing,
05:27calming music can really be beneficial to so.
05:31Sometimes integrative medicine isn't all
05:33about meditation or keeping a rigid practice.
05:35Sometimes it is, but sometimes it isn't.
05:37Sometimes it's really just
05:39about being in your place.
05:40Finding a nice,
05:41comfortable spot to just simply be present.
05:44So I hope you all got something out of this.
05:47I hope you have a wonderful day and I
05:50hope you get your who gon take care.