Why your brain wants to hibernate and how to be more resilient

I don’t know if you’ve noticed this, but winter can affect how some of us feel. Changes in daylight, weather and routine can influence things like our mood, sleep and energy levels. But even though many of us notice seasonal changes every year, we still behave like it's an annoyance that we should all be able to push through with a bit more discipline.

The messaging is: keep being productive, stay motivated, reinvent yourself. I think that’s why so many people assume something is wrong when they start wanting stillness, rest, softness, time alone at this time of year.

We often go first to calling ourselves “lazy” or lacking in momentum and motivation. Then comparison kicks in - the idea that you’re somehow moving backwards while everyone else pushes on.

It’s not necessarily laziness

For your own sanity, it’s really important to acknowledge here that there can be reasons why you feel different during winter. Reduced daylight can affect our body clock, and some people notice changes in their sleep, energy, concentration or mood during the winter months.

We may also spend less time outdoors or socialising when the days are shorter, and the weather is colder. All of this can contribute to winter feeling different from other times of the year. Motivation may feel less loud and more out of reach. Emotions may feel a lot heavier.

For some people, these seasonal changes are relatively mild. For others, persistent low mood, loss of interest, tiredness, difficulty concentrating or sleeping more can be symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder, a form of depression with a seasonal pattern.

Modern life isn’t always set up to accommodate this

Our responsibilities don’t necessarily change just because the season does. So, your deadlines are still there. Expectations remain. And, of course, self-improvement culture is really shouting at this time of year and through January.

As a result, we end up with this tension between what we instinctively feel our bodies want and what the world appears to demand. And living with that constant tension can leave us feeling irritable, exhausted, foggy-headed or low. For a lot of us, there is also something that can be quite well hidden: shame.

Do you just feel tired in winter? Or do you feel guilty for being tired too?

Resilience means stopping the struggle

Resilience is really important to how we experience winter because it can help us respond to difficult periods without simply expecting ourselves to keep powering through. And by resilience, I mean mindset, habits, nervous system, authenticity, emotional regulation and unwinding the impact of the past (my resilience model).

Building resilience can help us recognise what we’re experiencing without immediately turning it into a personal failing. Perspectives can shift from “I’m exhausted and broken” to “I feel slow and need more rest.”

Building more resilience can change your experience of winter

Not by denying the slowdown, but by considering how you can move through this season in a way that works better for you. You don’t judge your motivation every day. You pace it. This is a huge shift. Mainly because it can release some of that tension.

Instead of struggling against the drag that winter can create for some of us, we can accept it. Not to give in to it but to start working with it. Sure, you might still have fluctuating energy and hate the dark mornings, but the spiralling into panic that you’re not performing as you should may start to ease. When you create days that are built around what you can realistically accommodate, there may be a sense of ease. Less guilt and shame and more awareness of what you need.

Resilience isn’t about powering through winter as you did in July

It can mean finding ways to look after yourself during these months. Here’s what winter might look like with, and without, resilience (the model I work with as a resilience coach anyway).

Without:

• increased withdrawal
• decision fatigue
• emotional oversensitivity
• low-key hopelessness
• brutal self-comparison

With:

• decisions may feel simpler
• emotions may feel easier to navigate
• rest can feel restorative instead of guilt-inducing
• motivation may return without as much force
• greater trust in what you need

The advantages of winter

Winter removes a lot of external stimulation, which can feel unnerving. But when you’re being steadied by resilience, that can be clarifying. It gives you the chance to see what actually drains you, what goes when you don’t give it your attention - and what stays.

It’s an opportunity to come out of winter with clearer boundaries, fewer compulsive habits, and a stronger sense of what matters. Not because of any kind of forced awareness or structured self-development. But just because you’ve created the conditions to slow down enough to notice.

Coping vs living

“Coping” at this time of year can sometimes feel like endurance. Survival. Waiting for external circumstances to change before you feel more like yourself again.

But there is another way - and that’s living. It happens when you consider what you need during this particular season rather than expecting yourself to function exactly as you do at other times of the year. So, when energy begins to rise again, you may feel more able to build on what you’ve learnt about yourself rather than feeling as though you need to start again.

That can be one of the gifts of building resilience in winter - spring doesn’t have to feel like a desperate restart. Instead, it can feel like the continuation of a natural cycle.

Winter affects people differently. Some people barely notice the seasonal change, while others experience significant changes in their energy, motivation or mood. Resilience isn’t about denying what you’re experiencing or treating it as a personal failure. It’s about recognising what you need and considering how you can support yourself through it.

If low mood, loss of interest or significant tiredness is affecting your daily life, particularly if it follows a seasonal pattern, speak to your GP.