The long, cold Swedish nights will put off your trip to these parts in the winter, unless you're looking for that elusive 21st century luxury - a good night's sleep.
The ferry makes its way through the frozen water of the Baltic Sea, while touring the Stockholm archipelago.
Place names like Skarpo, Hjolmo, and Jelno are written on the rust-colored red huts lining the docks.
The suffix "Ö" means island in Swedish, a picturesque depiction of a land surrounded by sea on which two little people land.
I was the only one who landed on Swat, one of the few islands in the archipelago where there is accommodation in the winter.
I made my way through the snowy path. to Skargardshotel, where they took me to a cabin at the edge of the forest, overlooking the dark expanse of Lake Svatsvladen.
I feel like there's nothing further than this place.
My room is furnished in strict Swedish minimalism: a bed, a chair, and a bedside table.
Without a TV or anything that could take me away from the untouched peace of this environment.
That suits me perfectly since I came here primarily to sleep.
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In an age of constant connectivity, sleep has become the ultimate luxury and has sparked a new trend in travel.
The word is about sleep tourism, which offers sleep-deprived travelers the ability to choose a hotel based on the pillows on offer or book places at sleepy resorts far from everything.
There are also sleep-promoting activities specially designed for guests.
Sweden has a different, more natural approach to sleepaway tourism, in line with nature and a more traditional way of life.
When mentioning this Scandinavian country, the most common associations are bustling cities like Stockholm and Gothenburg, where everyone is connected, but as soon as winter arrives, Sweden embraces its sleepy side and invites visitors to do the same.
Peaceful wilderness and dark, cold nights
Sweden is an ideal location for sleep tourism because of its "abundance of natural resources and vast expanses of peaceful wilderness combined with dark nights, cool temperatures and a culture that emphasizes rest," explains Christian Benedikt, a sleep researcher at Uppsala University.
"Studies show that the ways in which technology negatively impacts our lives have significant consequences for sleep, and spending time in nature is linked to better mental health and fewer sleepless nights," he points out.
When I decided to try it myself, I chose the Stockholm archipelago, a nature lover's paradise with more than 30.000 islands, many of which are uninhabited.
Svatso is one of the larger islands, but only 65 inhabitants live on it year-round.
A two-hour ferry ride from Stockholm, this is a popular summer resort, attracting weekenders and vacation home owners, with several restaurants and lush nature, ideal for walking, swimming, cycling and kayaking.
During the winter months, the Skarsgard Hotel is the only accommodation open, and its cozy forest cabins, set away from the main building in a quiet wooded area, offer the peace and quiet I need without being completely alone in the wilderness.
I live in the city, my thoughts are restless.
I often wake up multiple times during the night and get up early, feeling like I have to overcome a long list of to-dos that keeps me awake.
In winter, there's nothing else to do on the island except walk, read, or observe the rhythm of the day in a different way than when I'm surrounded by the bright city lights.
Svatso literally means "black island", referring to the black granite rocky ground, although in winter the name can refer to the dark skies, devoid of city lights.
Darkness, long considered a metaphor for fear and depression, has been embraced in these Nordic regions.
Even further north, there is the Arctic Circle, where the polar night shrouds the land in darkness and lasts for months, and instead of sitting at home, residents put on headlamps and explore snowy trails.
I do the same thing, walking at dusk across a field full of sheep, pigs, and goats.
Moving along the edge of the forest, I descend to the shore, watch the sun sink into the water and listen to a woodpecker loudly splitting a tree and then stopping, as if a switch had been flipped.
The forest around me becomes completely still, as the earth prepares for sleep under a thick blanket of snow.
The hotel sauna is discreetly tucked away between the trees, and I bring the day to a close in typical Scandinavian style, sweating out any worries that might be keeping me awake, then refreshing myself in the cool water.
After a simple dinner of stångkorv (Swedish sausage and kale), I sit by the fire with a group of kayakers who have paddled here from Stockholm.
"Traditionally during the months when there is more darkness, fire is a source of warmth and light, but it is also part of the evening ritual," a woman named Marie tells me.
"After dinner, people would gather around the fire, and the flickering flames would drive away all the troubles of the workday," he explains.
Makes sense to me.
In fact, it seems so sleepy that by around eight o'clock at night I'm ready to retreat to the cabin, where I'll curl up under the covers and a cozy wool blanket and sleep for an unheard of ten hours, waking up refreshed to see a glimmer of the moon above the trees outside.
It's easy to think that lack of sleep is a 21st century problem, but the Swedish legend of Mara suggests that it's as ancient as the forest.
A strange, mythical creature said to torment people while they sleep, causing fear and tightness in the chest, Mara gave rise to the word "nightmare".
But in modern times, technology-induced distraction has replaced mythical creatures in preventing more and more people from sleeping.
Sweden is one of the most digitalized societies in Europe, explains Teresa Siderkreutz, director at the Swedish Skandik Hotel Group.
"We were among the first to embrace digitalization, and our interest in sleep, especially its lack, may have something to do with that, as well as a greater awareness of the impact of digitalization on our health, which we want to counter with a range of different measures."
"We have darkened rooms, sleep-promoting playlists, and wellness areas where cell phones are banned. If our guests don't sleep, our business suffers, and so does their health," she says.
Around the world, other hotels, both in and out of cities, are trying to go two steps ahead.
London's Cadogan Hotel has a special sleep concierge service, designed with the help of hypnotherapist and sleep expert Malminder Gill.
As part of this program, they also offer guided meditation for sleep.
Mandarin Oriental in Geneva offers a three-day package in collaboration with a private clinic specializing in sleep.
It involves studying sleep patterns and creating individualized rest programs.
In Thailand, amidst tropical greenery, a naturopathic specialist within the Kiva-Som Hua Hin resort will advise you on a range of topics from nutrition to hormones that affect biological rhythms.
On the other hand, the Carillon Hotel in Miami uses electromagnetic waves and infrared technology to help guests fall asleep.
"Clients came to us claiming to be completely exhausted, which was often a result of lack of sleep," says Stella Foti, founder of Wellbeing Escapes (Wellbeing Escapes).
"We try to incorporate elements of local cultures into our sleep programs. In Buddhist countries like Thailand and Sri Lanka, we offer meditation and mindfulness practices."
"In India, Ayurvedic treatments use local herbs, and in Italy, guided walks through vineyards are part of the sleep-promoting activities," he lists the offerings and treatments.
In Sweden, however, spending time in nature is the basis of sleep tourism.
"Nature's motto is to keep things simple," says Jenny Walker, founder of Walkers Naturturer, a company dedicated to nature tours on the west coast of the Swedish archipelago.
"In winter, the bare meadows near the Gothenburg archipelago are sparsely vegetated, and birches and pines are hidden from the strong westerly winds."
"Walking along the rocks, you might come across a harbor seal sunbathing on the reef, which is the perfect preparation for a good night's rest," she says.
In Sweden, putting sleep at the center of the day begins at dawn with the opportunity to engage in sleep-enhancing activities like hiking, kayaking, and enjoying a walk in the forest.
After a giant sleep, I recharge with a breakfast of muesli, yogurt, cranberry jam, and cinnamon rolls to walk the section of the Stockholm Archipelago Trail that runs along the island of Svatso.
This unique path, long 270 kilometers, stretches along 20 islands from Arhoma in the north to Landsort in the south.
The 18-kilometer trail on Svatso Island takes me around the island, past a large freshwater lake and a snow-covered pine forest.
There I saw an unusual red squirrel, followed the deer's tracks, and jumped over a tree that had just been gnawed by a beaver.
The whole day turned into a wonderful walk through the forest and when it's time to return to my cabin, I have nothing to think about except going to dinner, enjoying the flames of the fire afterwards and sleeping or "sov gott" as they say in the land of sleep.
That's what I did.
It seems that, at least for me, mild physical activity in a quiet environment without too many distractions and going to bed when nature intended allows for a perfect return to biological rhythm.
"Sleep resorts don't just help people fall asleep while on vacation."
"The goal is to provide a relaxed, holistic, and personal approach that will guide you into sleep, create new waking habits, and lead to far-reaching change," says Foti.
I'll think about it when I get some sleep.
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