While the festive break can bring connection, it can also amplify stress, disrupt the routines that keep us grounded, and leave us feeling drained. As social calendars overflow, sleep often suffers – leaving the nervous system to pay the price.
Managing holiday stress isn’t about staying on top of everything perfectly, it’s about recognising that this period requires a little more proactive support than usual. With targeted nutrient support and simple lifestyle strategies, it’s possible to actually enjoy the holiday break while feeling resilient, grounded and well.
Why managing holiday stress really matters
Holiday burnout is very real. Short-term stress is part of life, but chronic stress – even over a few weeks – can have a noticeable impact on mental and physical wellbeing. Elevated stress hormones like cortisol can:
- Heighten anxiety and irritability
- Disrupt sleep quality and circadian rhythm
- Slow digestion and worsen bloating, discomfort, and food sensitivities
- Reduce immune function
- Affect mood, focus, sleep, and energy levels
For many adults, these effects can feel more pronounced, especially if you’re juggling work demands, family responsibilities, or major life changes. Managing holiday stress proactively is one of the most powerful forms of self-care around this time.
How stress impacts mood, sleep, digestion, and immunity
When we’re busy and stressed, healthy habits tend to go out the window as the body shifts into survival mode. Stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline are prioritised, diverting resources away from systems involved in rest, repair, digestion and immune defence.
Over time, this can have wide-reaching effects:
- Mood: Chronic stress can deplete neurotransmitters involved in calm and emotional balance, including serotonin and GABA, contributing to low mood, irritability and anxiety.1,2
- Sleep: Elevated cortisol can interfere with melatonin production, making it harder to fall asleep or stay asleep.3
- Digestion: Stress reduces blood flow to the gut, slowing digestion and increasing the risk of bloating, discomfort and irregular bowel habits.4
- Immune health: Prolonged stress suppresses immune function by reducing the activity of key immune cells and increasing inflammation. This can leave you more vulnerable to seasonal bugs, slower recovery, and feeling run-down.5
During the holiday season when sleep is often disrupted, alcohol intake may increase, and routines change these effects can be amplified. Supporting the nervous system during this time is not just about emotional wellbeing – it also plays a crucial role in maintaining immune resilience and overall health.
Nutritional and herbal support for stress, anxiety, and mood support over the holidays
Targeted nutritional and herbal support can play a helpful role in holiday stress management, particularly as demands on the nervous system increase. Certain nutrients and botanicals help to regulate stress hormones, support emotional balance, and encourage relaxation without causing drowsiness or low energy.
Key herbs and nutrients for stress and mood include:
- Magnesium: Supports muscle relaxation, sleep quality and calm.
- B vitamins: Aid energy production and support cognitive function.
- Vitamin C: Required for adrenal function and stress resilience.
- Passionflower: Traditionally used in Western herbal medicine to calm nerves and relieve irritability.
Lifestyle tweaks that have a big impact
Supplements work best when paired with supportive daily habits. These practical tips can help you stay healthy and stress-free over the holidays without sacrificing enjoyment:
- Protect your sleep: There’s a reason this is number one – it’s tough to stay resilient and make good choices on a poor night’s sleep. Aim for consistency with a sleep routine that includes dimming the lights, minimising screen time, herbal tea to signal safety to your nervous system.
- Eat mindfully, not restrictively: Festive meals can still be high in healthy fats, protein, fibre and antioxidants. Chewing your food well and enjoying each mouthful will go a long way in supporting digestion and mood.
- Use simple breathing techniques: Deep breaths into the belly is the quickest way to calm rising stress. Try 4-6 slow, intentional breaths before meals, social events, or bedtime.
- Set gentle boundaries: You don’t have to say yes to everything. Prioritise time for the gatherings and people that matter the most to you and allow space for ample rest in between.
- Keep moving (without overdoing it!): Regular movement throughout the day, like walking, swimming, gentle stretching, playing backyard cricket, or 15 minutes of yoga are all intentional ways to support mood, digestion, and stress levels without adding extra pressure on yourself.
Managing stress over the holiday period isn’t about doing everything perfectly, it’s about supporting your body and mind in simple, sustainable ways. By prioritising sleep, gentle movement, and the right herbs and nutrients for stress and mood, you can reduce holiday anxiety and build greater resilience to take you into the New Year.
Interested in learning more? Sign up for our monthly e-newsletter or read more great articles from Micronutrition.
This article was written by Sophia Power, a Clinical Nutritionist.
Reference:
- Ghosal, S., et al. (2015). Prefrontal cortex GABAergic deficits and circuit dysfunction in the pathophysiology and treatment of chronic stress and depression. Current Opinion in Behavioural Sciences, 14: 1-8. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352154616301498
- Natarajan, R., et al. (2015). Protracted effects of chronic stress on serotonin-dependent thermoregulation. Stress, 18(6):668-676. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4893822/
- Oster, H., et al. (2016). The functional and clinical significance of the 24-hour rhythm of circulating glucocorticoids. Endocr Rev, 38(1):3-45. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5563520/
- Leigh, S.J., et al. (2023). The impact of acute and chronic stress on gastrointestinal physiology and function: a microbiota-gut-brain axis perspective. The Journal of Physiology, 601(20):4491-4538. https://physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1113/JP281951
- Alotiby, A. (2024). Immunology of stress: a review article. J Clin Med, 13(21): 6394. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11546738/