With candles and knitwear slowly taking over our homes, it seems a natural progression that hygge - the Danish concept of living well - should nuzzle its way in between the sheets too. Right?
A parody lifestyle book, ‘Say Ja To Hygge’, by Dr Magnus Olsensen, has devised a series of sex tips to help us all get a little more Dane in our bedrooms.
And inspired by his work, we’ve devised our seven top tips on how to hump, hygge style.
1. Keep the lights off.
This is your moment to prove to your partner that your investments in scented wax weren’t misguided: “Hygge sex starts long before intercourse. It starts with the lighting of candles. Light in the room in which coitus is planned must be provided by candles only,” says Dr Olsensen.
2. Feed each other danish pastries.
Is there anything more erotic than a pile of freshly baked carbohydrates?
Cinnamon rolls are obviously best served on naked bodies or after sex - that way you have to stay awake for at least 90 seconds afterwards to not appear rude.
3. Keep your socks on.
Hygge is all about being cosy. So it might not be fashionable, but keeping your toes toasty in a pair of woolen socks throughout the action is so hygge. So don’t shame your partner into taking them off.
4. Check the weather.
Dr Olsensen reminds couples: “For the hygge couple, the perfect sexual track is in fact the sound of a moderate to severe storm. Howling wind and lashing rain will only heighten intimacy.”
Ideally you are inside during the thunderstorm, rather than out.
5. Stay under the duvet.
We don’t care if you want to be able to see each other naked, there is nothing more hygge than snuggling in a woollen blanket.
Bonus points for being unbearably sweaty as Dr Olsensen recommends setting the thermostat at exactly 28.5 degrees. Toasty.
6. Have a murder mystery playing in the background.
We’ve already discussed the soundtrack of a thunderstorm, but for the real Danish vibe, you will want to hear Sarah Lund talking about a corpses while you get down.
We will also be copying Lund and investing in some elaborate knitwear to wear during post-coital pillow talk.
7. Get the oils out.
Just in case you were having second thoughts about whether hygge sex, Dr Olsensen insists that an almost hour-long massage is the most integral part: “Using essential oils which evoke the forest. Hygge sex cannot be rushed.”
We’re sold.