The "New Year" Trap
Don't make this New Years Resolution mistake in 2026!
Are your New Years Resolutions Counterintuitive?
The same way our biology is not attuned to a number on a clock, but rather, light signals from the sun to tell time throughout the day, we are also not attuned to a number on the calendar — but rather, natural seasonal shifts in overall light, temperature, and other seasonal signals.
Holding this perspective, the dead of winter might actually be the worst time to overhaul your life, and implement tons of high activity habits. In this time, we should be tuning into rest, darkness, and inner work — but we don’t see many January 1st goals that fit these categories.
Don’t get me wrong — we should always be focusing on ways to support our health naturally, 365 days a year. If January 1st holds excitement and motivation for you, then you should absolutely integrate some new goals and habits — with seasonality in mind.
Many New Years resolutions involve things like getting 15K steps per day, eating more salads and smoothies, calorie restriction, and early morning HIIT workouts. Most people are moving from 0 to 100 overnight.
Not only is this against our natural hormonal and biological rhythms, but I suspect it has a lot to do with the reason why only 9% of people who make New Years resolutions actually complete them.
Your Biology in the Winter
In the spring and summer, we have an abundance of energy available to us in our environment — sunshine fueling vitamin D and serotonin, fresh + hydrating fruits filled with carbohydrates and minerals, warmer temperatures bringing thermoregulation demands down — which allow for outward expansion through increased insulin sensitivity, stable thyroid function, rising sex hormones, and surges in motivation and activity. On the contrary, in winter, these external sources of energy decline — meaning we must optimize the body’s own internal energy generation.
Metabolism
Believe it or not, your energy needs actually increase in the winter time. Both your metabolic rate, and thyroid hormones increase to offset the effects of our cold, dark winter environment. We are also slightly more insulin resistant, meanwhile fat metabolism is favored.
Sleep & Repair
Prolonged darkness increases our production of melatonin, which promotes deeper rest, repair, & longer sleeping periods with more REM cycles. This shifts our reliance from Vitamin D’s immune pathways to melatonin’s antioxidant and cell repair pathways.
Fertility
Sex hormones like testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone are typically lower as the body reserves energy from reproductive processes. This may cause natural minor fluctuations in menstrual cycles & fertility.
Inner Environment
A shift from outward expansion to inner cultivation is true biologically speaking, but I also love how it perfectly mirrors our mental, emotional, and spiritual need for more inner work and introspection during this time.
Making Goals with the Seasons
Once again, I don’t want to discourage any motivation you may have with the new year. These seasonal caveats don’t mean that you shouldn’t make any changes to your health until spring — they mean that you should consider your current season, and make goals that align with your biology.
Improve your health with the New Year:
Work 1:1 With a Practitioner
This is the perfect time to do the “inner work” with a practitioner by your side. Take the rest of these winter months to resolve a health issue that has been hindering you — such as a gut infection, thyroid or hormonal imbalance, mineral imbalance, toxicity — so that you can hit the ground running this spring with outward expansion.
We are still accepting new clients for January! Book your free intro call!
Existing clients: book a single consultation, or order labs through the patient portal to get back on track:
Morning Sun
Morning sunshine is still important in the winter! This helps to clear melatonin, set your circadian clock, and trigger your cortisol awakening response to get moving for the day. Bundle up and get out there!
Winter Walks
While I don’t recommend jumping from 0 steps to 15K at this time, walks outside will always be beneficial. Walking outside in the winter gets you exposed to lots of infrared light for healing and cell repair, lymph flow and detoxification, melatonin production for later use, and cold exposure for mitochondrial efficiency.
Dark Evenings
No darkness = no melatonin. Many people spend their winters indoors, in front of screens. With our lack of vitamin D production, maximizing melatonin production is a must if we want to maintain good health. This looks like winding down by candlelight, or very dim lights after sunset.
Gentle Movement
Mobility and fascia support is crucial during this time to support hydration, detoxification, and circulation.
Other Winter Habits:
Sauna
Bonfire / indoor fires
Candlelit dinners
Red light therapy
Weight lifting
Optimizing protein intake
Warming soups & stews
Herbal teas
Root vegetables and squash
Fiber rich fruits like apples, pears, pomegranate
Reading
Journaling
Prayer and meditation
Creative hobbies
Snowshoeing, skiing, sledding, skating
“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.”
Lao Tzu
I want to hear from you!
What are you implementing to become in tune with your environment the rest of this winter season? Reply to this email or comment below ❄️🌲✨