"How are Finns doing?" was a question that plagued Finnish sociologist Erik Allardt fifty years ago, leading him to develop a well-being study that became a classic, Helsingin Sanomat writes.
Tampere University researchers repeated the 1970s study in 2017. In the 1970s, almost 1,000 people were interviewed, while the new survey was conducted online with around 2,500 respondents.
Interesting differences emerged from the survey compared to the past, HS reports. Results showed that in 2017, those aged 50 and older were the most satisfied with their lives, while in 1972, young people were the most satisfied.
"My own interpretation of this is the dramatic rise in living standards in the 1970s. It's as if the young people of that time were caught up in the boom," according to sociology professor Hannu Uusitalo.
Uusitalo, who participated in the original study as a young doctoral researcher, headed the 2017 working group.
Allardt's original study measured well-being in three dimensions: having, loving, and being. It was difficult to repeat the half-century-old study, as some of the interview questions seemed outdated, HS writes.
"This was most evident in the 'having' dimension," Uusitalo told HS, referring to material conditions. "Today, these things would not be asked in interviews, but would be retrieved from registers."
Lowering indoor temps
Many people are taking energy-saving measures as a result of the challenging energy situation across Europe, according to Ilta-Sanomat.
These can include reducing the amount of energy used to heat a home, with some people in Finland even lowering the temperature inside their dwellings by several degrees, the paper reports.
"We have customers who have turned off the heating in all the rooms in their detached houses except the living room, kitchen and bedroom. It depends on the building's structure whether it can withstand this," Hannele Rämö, Executive Director of housing health union Asumisterveysliitto (AsTe ry), told the paper.
Meanwhile Mervi Ahola, Executive Director of the Finnish Indoor Air Association, said she would not advise keeping indoor home temperatures below 18 degrees Celsius, as in some cases this can increase the chance of moisture damage.
Both Ahola and Rämö said they considered 20-22 degrees Celsius to be a suitable indoor temperature.
"I hope that no one will lower the temperature of their home so much that they risk a burst pipe. Property value also needs to be taken care of," Ahola said.
Winter warmer than average
Finnish weather forecasting agency Foreca has published its forecasts for autumn and winter on its blog, Iltalehti reports.
While the agency predicts winter in Finland to be warmer than average, severe frosts are also possible.
According to the forecasts, the average temperature across most of the country will be 0.5-1 degrees Celsius above average between November and January. Meanwhile, the December-February period is forecast to be 0.5-2 degrees warmer than usual, IL writes.
The weather during these three-month periods can however vary widely, according to Foreca meteorologist Joanna Rinne.
Due to Finland's variable climate, although the three-month period is predicted to be warmer than usual, it can also include rain, sunshine and cool or warm days, Rinne noted.