Helping Your Body Avoid the Holiday Crash

Have you ever noticed that you finally take time off… and then you get sick, feel low, or completely drained?

It’s a surprisingly common experience. People often expect relief when life slows down—holidays, time off work, or quiet seasons—but instead they feel worse. From a neuroscience perspective, this reaction makes sense. It’s not weakness or burnout “catching up.” It’s your nervous system recalibrating.

The Neuroscience Behind the Post-Stress Crash

When life is busy or stressful, your brain relies on stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline to keep you functioning. These chemicals help you stay alert, suppress fatigue, and even dampen immune responses.

When the pressure lifts, those hormones drop quickly. Your body finally gets the signal that it’s safe to stand down—and everything that was being held back shows up.

This is often called the “let-down effect.” It explains why people:

• Get sick at the start of holidays

• Feel emotionally flat or low when life quiets

• Experience exhaustion once deadlines or responsibilities end

Your system didn’t fail—it waited.

Why Rest Can Feel Uncomfortable at First

Many people spend long periods in survival mode—doing, managing, pushing through. When the pace slows, the nervous system tries to shift into rest, but if it hasn’t practiced slowing down safely, that transition can feel unsettling.

Instead of calm, people may notice:

• Fatigue or heaviness

• Low mood or irritability

• Anxiety or restlessness

• Body aches or brain fog

Rest reveals what stress postponed.

The Role of Dopamine and Structure

Busyness provides structure and small dopamine rewards—checking tasks off, solving problems, staying productive. When structure disappears suddenly, dopamine drops. Motivation dips, and the brain may interpret the quiet as something being “wrong,” even when nothing is.

This is especially common for caregivers, high-functioning professionals, and those who are used to staying busy to feel regulated.

How to Prevent the Crash

The key is not stopping abruptly, but tapering.

Helpful strategies include:

• Enhancing self-care routines during time off

• Scheduling gentle movements like walking, exercising or cleaning

• Planning low-pressure activities instead of complete inactivity

• Expecting emotions or fatigue to surface and allowing space for them

Gradual downshifts help the nervous system adjust without crashing.

How to Recover If You’re Already There

If you’re already feeling low, sick, or exhausted, focus on stabilizing first, not forcing rest or positivity.

Support recovery by:

• Eating regularly and staying hydrated

• Getting daylight exposure each morning

• Doing gentle movement, even in small amounts

• Using warmth, grounding, or slow breathing to support the body

• Engaging in meaningful but low-demand activities

Most importantly, avoid self-judgment. This phase usually passes within one to two weeks when the body is supported rather than pushed.

A Reframe That Matters

This experience isn’t laziness, weakness, or failure to relax.

It’s your body saying:

“I finally feel safe enough to rest. My body is recalibrating.”

Understanding this reduces shame and helps people work with their nervous system instead of against it.

When to Seek Extra Support

If low mood, anxiety, or exhaustion persists for several weeks—or if sleep continues to deteriorate—additional support can be helpful. A regulated nervous system is something that can be learned, practiced, and strengthened over time.

Quiet seasons are not the problem. The transition into them matters.

With the right pacing and support, rest becomes restorative again.