6 Simple Ways to Rest This Holiday Season

article by Ancestral Nutrition

Image showing cat sleeping for rest and recovery for Ancestral Nutrition

Rest Is Still Productive: Why Slowing Down This Holiday Season Is the Healthiest Thing You Can Do

As the holidays draws near, the world speeds up. The lists get longer, the inboxes fill, and even the air feels busier. But our bodies haven’t evolved to thrive in constant motion. Deep down, we still follow nature’s rhythm, light and dark, activity and rest.

At Ancestral Nutrition, we often talk about nourishment from real food. But rest is nourishment too. It’s the invisible fuel that allows every other system to work as it should. This holiday, instead of pushing through exhaustion, consider rest your most productive habit.

The Myth of Earning Rest

Somewhere along the way, we learned to treat rest as a luxury, a reward for finishing the to-do list. Yet, every living thing on Earth relies on cycles of activity and recovery. We are designed the same way.

Our ancestors followed these rhythms naturally. Winter meant shorter days, longer fires, slower evenings. Today, we try to maintain summer energy all year round, and our bodies quietly protest. The truth? Rest isn’t lazy. It’s life maintenance.

Why Rest Matters More Than Ever

Rest isn’t just sleep; it’s a state of recovery woven through the day.

Here’s why it matters:

It resets the nervous system. Rest pulls the body out of “fight or flight,” helping you digest, think, and breathe easier.
It restores natural energy. True rest allows your cells to recharge without needing caffeine or sugar.
It improves digestion. Calm eating means better absorption and less discomfort.
It balances your mood. Quiet time regulates hormones that stabilise mood and focus.
It deepens sleep. Short pauses throughout the day make nighttime rest more restorative.

6 Simple Ways to Rest This Holiday Season

You don’t need to disappear to the bush or cancel plans to find calm. Rest can exist in small, repeatable rituals that fit into everyday life.

1. Start the morning slowly

Step outside before checking your phone.
Breathe deeply and let natural light hit your eyes.
Move gently, stretch, walk, or simply stand barefoot on the earth.
A few minutes of stillness early on can anchor your mood for the whole day.

2. Eat with awareness

Sit down to eat, no screens, no rushing.
Take three deep breaths before your first bite.
Pause halfway through and notice how you feel.
Eating calmly allows your body to digest and absorb nutrients more efficiently, one of the simplest forms of restoration.

3. Honour your natural sleep window

Dim the lights an hour before bed.
Step away from screens that trick your brain into thinking it’s daytime.
Aim for consistent hours, not perfection.
Sleep before midnight supports your body’s deepest repair cycles, something no supplement or workout can replace.

4. Get sunlight every day

Even ten minutes of morning light can lift your mood and help your body produce serotonin, a natural precursor to melatonin, your sleep hormone. If you can’t get outdoors:

Sit by a sunny window.
Open the door while you sip coffee.
Take short walking breaks outside.
Sunlight is nature’s original reset button.

5. Protect moments of quiet

Holiday gatherings are wonderful, but overstimulation drains even the happiest spirit. Make space for silence:

Step outside after meals.
Take five slow breaths in another room.
Listen to wind, waves, or birdsong.
Stillness isn’t avoidance, it’s maintenance for your nervous system.

6. Embrace imperfection

The holidays are full of expectation, the perfect meal, the perfect mood, the perfect day.

Let the gravy spill.
Let someone else take charge.
Laugh at what doesn’t go to plan.
Perfection is exhausting. Presence is peaceful.

Rest and the Body’s Intelligence

Science now confirms what ancient traditions always knew: rest transforms the body.

Heart rate variability (a key marker of resilience) improves with intentional rest.
Cortisol levels your stress hormones, drop after just a few minutes of deep breathing.
Immunity strengthens when sleep and downtime are consistent.
Cognition and creativity flourish in quiet moments, when the brain integrates information.

Your best ideas and calmest energy often arrive after you stop trying to produce them.

Rest, the Original Reset

You can’t buy rest or capture it on social media, yet it’s the foundation of every healthy system, digestion, immunity, energy, mood.

Because when you rest deeply, you don’t fall behind, you return balanced, focused, and ready to give your best self to the people and moments that matter most.

In the quiet between the celebrations, your body remembers how to heal.