Facts about Winter and Mental Health

Happy New Year. It’s a new year, and this one is already off to being a whirlwind in our state and local community. There is no doubting it folks, Winter is hard. Following all the excitement of the holidays, together time with others, January can feel boring, long, dark, and cold. The winter blues are a real thing and we all need lifestyle support for the darker days of winter. If your struggling with a lower mood and less energy, this is common as is fatigue.

Did You Know, New Years Resolutions are Not a Great Idea in January?

Yup, that’s right! Giving into the cultural pressure to force ourselves every January to set grand resolutions to lose 30 pounds, go to the gym five days a week, completely eat clean with vegetables and low fat protein, quit eating sugar to become a new version of oneself on January 1st is not realistic or sustainable. 

So What Should I Be Doing instead of Resolutions in Winter?

Winter is for reflection. For gathering yourself. For asking the deeper questions:

•. What worked this past year? What didn’t?

•. What do I want to carry forward? What am I ready to release?

•. What seeds do I want to plant for spring?

•. What does my body truly need right now?

This is the season to nurture your reserves, not drain them. To rest deeply, to eat nourishing foods, to move gently rather than intensely. To dream and envision without the pressure to act immediately.

Think of winter as the preparation phase. You’re not doing nothing, you’re doing the essential inner work that makes spring’s growth possible.

Is it Normal to have Less Energy in the Winter vs the Summer?

Yes! Do you feel like you have to force yourself to go to early morning workout classes? Do you struggle with the question, when should I push myself against what feels right and when do I honor what my body is telling me?

Winter is the season of storage, conservation, and deep rest. Nature knows this. Trees draw their sap inward. Bears hibernate. Seeds rest in frozen ground, gathering strength for spring.

Your body wants to do the same thing. You’re not lazy for wanting to sleep more in January, you’re responding to nature’s rhythm. Winter is when we’re meant to restore our energy, not deplete it further by forcing dramatic changes that require enormous amounts of willpower and physical energy.

Is it a Problem of Willpower or Timing for Change?

That’s Right, January, is about the worst time to make major changes. Winter is a time for rest, restoration, and non-doing. If we look at the animals around us, are they busy at work or change? No, they are hibernating; they are restoring their energy supplies and waiting until the days are lighter, warmer, and longer. They are aligning to the natural rhythms of the earth and Mother Nature.

When we set aggressive New Year’s resolutions, we’re essentially asking our battery to power a massive surge of change at the exact moment it most needs to recharge. No wonder we fizzle out. And then add a bit of shame and disappointment to the mix, and our battery levels get even lower.

So go easy on yourself, it isn’t a matter of lacking willpower or determination, it is about recognizing that you can set intentions for meaningful changes in the spring, a time for renewal. Then those changes are much more likely to be sustainable.

How Do I Set Intentions for Spring?

There’s a crucial difference between resolutions driven by discipline and intentions that create space for growth in Spring.

Resolutions often come from a place of “should”, I should lose weight, I should exercise more, I should eat better. They’re about forcing yourself into a mold through sheer willpower and self-control. It’s exhausting, and it rarely lasts because it’s not sustainable. You’re white-knuckling your way through change.

Intentions, on the other hand, are about creating the conditions for your next best iteration of growth. They’re about asking: What does my body, mind, and spirit actually need right now? What small shifts would create space for me to naturally evolve into who I’m becoming?

This isn’t about examining weakness, it’s about understanding how real, lasting transformation actually happens through meaningful growth. It happens when we work with our nature, not against it.

January, A Month for Radical Acceptance

Instead of January resolutions, what if you radically accept and honor where you actually are?

Instead of: “I will go to the gym five days a week starting January 1st” Try: “I will listen to what my body needs and move in ways that feel nourishing this winter.”

Instead of: “I will follow a strict diet and lose 30 pounds” Try: “I will add more warming, nourishing foods that support my energy and wellness this season.”

Instead of forcing yourself and depleting your reserves by telling yourself you should change, how about honoring your natural rhythm and creating a positive space for sustainable change.

Trust in the Natural Cycle of the Seasons

Spring will eventually come and this is the time when your energy naturally begins to rise, when your body wants to move more, when new growth happens all around us in the grass, flowers, trees, with the start of fresh buds. It is also when your body will want to move more effortlessly rather than through force. The energy and desire for change you’re trying to manufacture in January will arrive on its own in March and April, if you rest and restore now.

Trusting that sustainable change happens in alignment with natural cycles, not against them. Creating space and doing the inner work will make room for the action phase later in Spring.

So this January, give yourself permission to rest. To reflect. To plant seeds without demanding they sprout in frozen ground. Your resolutions can wait.