livskraft

Livskraft is a term in Swedish and Norwegian (and Danish) that roughly translates to life force or vitality. It denotes a sense of energy, enthusiasm, and resilience that sustains physical and mental activity. In everyday language it can describe someone who has high livskraft—the energy to face daily tasks, recover from setbacks, and maintain well-being.

The term is formed from liv (life) and kraft (force or strength); the compound appears in Scandinavian languages from at least the early modern period, reflecting a notion of vital energy inherent to living beings. In older philosophical and literary texts, the word sometimes overlaps with broader notions of life-force or vital energy.

Historically, the concept is connected to vitalism, a doctrine that life cannot be reduced to physical processes alone and that living beings possess a non-physical life-force. In that sense, livskraft shares common ground with elan vital, as discussed by philosophers such as Bergson, though today it is used more pragmatically in Nordic languages.

In modern health and wellness contexts, livskraft describes overall vitality, including physical energy, mood, and resilience. Scientific perspectives treat vitality as a multi-dimensional construct involving energy, fatigue, and well-being; interventions that improve sleep, exercise, nutrition, and social support are said to enhance livskraft by boosting these related factors.

See also: Vitalism; Vitality; Energy (psychology).