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Canadian woman who lives in Sweden reveals the 14 incredible healthy habits she has learned from locals – and how they have transformed her life

A former college athlete from Canada who moved to Sweden in her adulthood shared what she’s learned from locals about leading a healthy lifestyle.

Keltie O’Connor, 32, spends half the year in the town of Sundsvall, north of Stockholm, to be near her hockey-player boyfriend during the on-season – spending the rest of her year in Vancouver.


It’s no secret that Sweden is a leading country on a number of metrics, including low obesity, overall quality of life and ‘happiest,’ with the Scandinavian country nabbing sixth-happiest in 2023.

Reflecting on the time spent in the region, Keltie decided to dive into the ‘healthy habits’ she’s picked up from the Swedes in a new YouTube video, quipping, ‘We love a healthy habits video.’ 


Keltie O'Connor, 32, from Canada, spends half the year in Sweden to be near her hockey-player boyfriend during the on-season

Keltie O’Connor, 32, from Canada, spends half the year in Sweden to be near her hockey-player boyfriend during the on-season


Keltie decided to focus on Stockholm specifically, embarking on a day trip to chronicle the ‘healthy habits unique to Stockholm, that I think makes Stockholm a city that it’s almost hard not to have a high quality of life in.’

First up, Stockholm is a ‘walkable city.’

‘You hear “walkable cities,” but what makes “walkable cities”?’ said Keltie. 


‘One thing, is just the accessibility to walk from place to place in terms of distance, but also just the frequency of streets that you can easily walk across in Stockholm, specifically there’s so many crosswalks,’ she said. 


Second, ‘the accessibility of nice gyms.’

‘I’m not just talking about Equinox and stuff. I mean bougie gyms at affordable prices,’ she said.


She added that she has a membership at the Stockholm gym STC, which costs about $50 in Canadian currency monthly, or around $37 USD.

Third (very closely linked to her second point), Keltie discusses ‘the accessibility of fitness classes.’

Taking to YouTube, she decided to explore 14 factors that make healthy-living so 'accessible,' specifically focusing on the capital of Stockholm

Taking to YouTube, she decided to explore 14 factors that make healthy-living so ‘accessible,’ specifically focusing on the capital of Stockholm



Among the things that Stockholm offers are ample, expansive parks and access to nature

Among the things that Stockholm offers are ample, expansive parks and access to nature 

Next up, ‘the amount of nature in downtown.’ 

‘As someone who’s lived in downtown cities like Toronto, that really lack it – they’ve got a park you can go to, but you’re daily commute doesn’t have trees – you start to feel this ickiness.


‘We crave nature. And Stockholm has so many little parks. You can hear birds chirp in the middle of a major downtown city!’

Fifth, she complimented ‘Swedish fashion,’ which is stylish yet practical. 


‘Everyone is very well dressed in comparison to Canada. Just more business casual, but it’s practical. Think wool jackets, trousers, sneakers. Everything’s very functional. You can tell they’re warm, so they’re going to go outside, but they can go into a business meeting.


‘Versus a lot of business attire in North America, for example, you can be outside for like a couple minutes, and your shoes – not as practical.’

Sixth, Keltie exclaimed ‘water quality for a major is phenomenal, it tastes so good! So it’s a hell of a lot easier to stay hydrated.’

Next, the content creator gushed over public transit, exclaiming that both trains and subways are ‘so accessible.’


‘Any city that has good public transit is naturally going to be a bit healthier. And look how beautiful the subway system is in Stockholm!’


Eighth on her list of healthy habits was the omega-3 rich food, including salmon and other fatty fish and seafood. It’s been found that diets rich in omega-3s offer a range of health benefits, from fighting depression to lowering risk of cardiovascular disease.

Clarifying that she didn’t want to generalize about what makes a ‘healthy diet’ – as she feels that it is different for everyone – Keltie added that she feels that ‘her body loves carbs and dairy,’ making her personally especially well-suited for a Swedish diet.


Keltie also shared her belief that Swedish fashion sense, while very stylish with a general 'business casual' sense, emphasizes practicality

The practice of 'fika' - 'a break in the middle of the day to have a coffee with a friend and a sweet treat,' Keltie explained - is reflective of a greater devotion to work-life balance

The practice of ‘fika’ – ‘a break in the middle of the day to have a coffee with a friend and a sweet treat,’ Keltie explained – is reflective of a greater devotion to work-life balance

Ninth, again relating to diet, Keltie claimed that ‘healthy lunches’ are very accessible throughout Stockholm – at ‘almost’ the ‘exact same price’ as fast food in the US or Canada.

Good customs around work-life balance, including ‘fika’ – ‘a break in the middle of the day to have a coffee with a friend and a sweet treat,’ were tenth on Keltie’s list.



‘It doesn’t sound that groundbreaking, but I think it’s what makes Stockholm Stockholm, and Sweden Sweden.

‘We don’t do that in North America. We get the biggest coffee on the go. We work until we burst, when it would be so simple if we just stopped, took 10, 15 minutes, unwound, and got going. But we don’t do that.’

With that, thanks to ample vacation time, ‘everyone’ is on vacation for the entire month of July. ‘It’s expected. It’s not like you’re grinding less. It’s just a part of the culture that you need that break. You have work-life balance. You have time for your family, you have time for your friends, you have time for hobbies.’


The eleventh healthy habit was the absence of vaping and smoking. ‘I see no one [smoking]’ said Keltie. Though, she added, many get their nicotine fix through Snus, a brand of ‘nicotine patches.’

‘In Sweden, they’re a way of life… it is drastically how little vaping or smoking I see in Sweden compared to the amount of vaping I see in North America and the amount of smoking I see in the rest of Europe,’ she continued.


‘Is a nicotine addiction healthy? No. I’m not saying that. But my personal opinion, it’s better than inhaling the smoke of a cigarettes. But, as of right now, that’s just my personal opinion, and by no means am I promoting them. Stay away.’


Twelfth, was sauna culture.

‘We all know the health benefits of sauna. And nowhere is sauna a bigger part of their lives than Scandinavia,’ enthused Keltie.

‘Living here has opened my eyes to how much sauna is a part of their culture, specifically in Northern Sweden,’ which, she added, shared a border with Finland, which is thought to be the top users of saunas globally.


Keltie believed the use of two duvets on a queen- or king-sized bed, with one for each person in a couple, is a 'game-changer' in terms of helping sleep quality

Keltie believed the use of two duvets on a queen- or king-sized bed, with one for each person in a couple, is a ‘game-changer’ in terms of helping sleep quality


Thirteenth on her list was about how ‘government help’ results in ‘less stress,’ stated Keltie.


She mentioned that, among government-provided health perks, were at least ‘five free massages per year’ for citizens.

‘There are so many more resources and so much more programs, to have a safety net in Sweden, which I think is really admirable.

‘I don’t want to get political. But I just have noticed all Swedes, for the most part – even though it’s still a very innovative country, it has invented things like Spotify – it still has that balance of, everyone has their basic needs met, for the most part. 



‘It’s not perfect, I’m not an expert in this. Just there’s less of a stress of survival here in Sweden. And I think when you’re not trying to survive, you can thrive. It’s cheesy, but it’s true.

‘It’s so hard to care about your health, when you’re just trying to survive. I’ve been there. When you’re like, “I just need to get to the next day. I just need to pay my bills. I just need to get food of any sort so I don’t starve.” You don’t care [about] the nutrients in it.

‘And because everyone has that baseline, it just gives a little bit more flexibility to care about your health and less stress.


‘And I think the lack of stress is incredibly important and that’s why we look at Scandinavia and we’re like, “Whoa, seems like this foreign land.” 

‘And sometimes when I’m here I’m like, “This isn’t real!”


‘It’s not perfect, but they do some things really well!’ Keltie emphasized. 


Last but not least, Keltie praised the use of a double duvet on beds. 

‘This is a game-changer! I think this could change the world,’ she explained.

Essentially, this means when couples share a bed they each get their own duvet – rather than one big one to share across a king or queen-sized mattress.


‘Each couple gets their own side. What does that mean? Better quality of sleep!’ she exclaimed.


‘You still get to sleep with the person, but no one’s hogging the blanket! I cocoon. I like to cocoon. And I do think it improves your quality of sleep.

‘I’m just one of those people that I like to cuddle to the point I go to bed. And the second I actually go to sleep, I’m rolling over, “You stay over there.” 


In North America, she observed, the habit could make people speculate that a relationship isn’t solid.

‘In Sweden, it’s just like, “Are you a psychopath? Of course you get two duvets.”‘

In conclusion, Keltie admitted that she was ‘just scratching the surface’ in terms of healthy habits in Stockholm.



‘It just makes it accessible for the average person to be more active, more balanced. Just pretty much you’re able to easily fill your physical, mental, emotional, financial and spiritual buckets.’

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