Hormone Tips for the Holiday Season
- Dr Bri Bryant
- Dec 14, 2025
- 7 min read
How to Stay Balanced During a Busy, Beautiful, and Sometimes Overwhelming Time of Year
The holiday season arrives with an energy all of its own. It’s a mix of celebration, connection, nostalgia, expectation, and, for many of us, an undercurrent of emotional and physical overwhelm. There are more social events, later nights, richer foods, extra sugar, disrupted routines, and the mental load of organising and hosting. And while holiday joy is real, so is the toll this season can take on your body, especially your hormones.
If you’ve ever felt more irritable in December, noticed your cycle shift, felt unexpectedly flat, or found your sleep and energy spiralling, you’re not imagining it. Your hormones are responding to a season that stretches your nervous system, digestion, and adrenal glands more than usual.
In this article, I want to share gentle, realistic hormone support tips for the holiday season, blending practical lifestyle shifts with deeper clinical insight, so you can understand what’s happening in your body and how to steady yourself through it. I’ll also explore how naturopathy and acupuncture can support hormonal balance during periods of increased stress. The goal isn’t perfection, it’s steadiness, clarity, and care.
Why Your Hormones Feel More Sensitive During the Holiday Season
Even when celebrations feel joyful, your body still registers the extra load. December brings a unique cocktail of physiological stressors that influence the HPA axis, blood sugar, circadian rhythm, and menstrual cycle.
Let’s break down the key players.
Cortisol, Stress, and the HPA Axis: The HPA axis (the communication channel between your brain and adrenal glands) governs your stress response. During the holiday season, this system feels the impact of:
Extra social and emotional labour
Fuller calendars
Late nights
Alcohol and sugar
Travel and routine disruption
Family dynamics or relational tension
When this axis is overstimulated, cortisol levels may rise or become irregular. Cortisol interacts with reproductive hormones in several ways:
It reduces progesterone production (leading to PMS, anxiety, headaches, and breast tenderness).
It interferes with thyroid function, often showing up as sluggishness or difficulty warming up.
It can affect ovulation timing, cycle length, and overall menstrual regularity.
Many women feel these changes in early January when the body begins to "come down" from the season.
The Blood Sugar Rollercoaster: Festive food is part of the magic, but it also contributes to fluctuating blood glucose levels, especially when meals become irregular or higher in refined carbohydrates and alcohol.
Blood sugar instability affects hormones through:
Increased insulin demand → inflammation
A drop in stable mood, focus, or energy
Cravings and emotional reactivity
Poor sleep, which further disrupts cortisol
Insulin also interacts with oestrogen metabolism, meaning high-sugar periods can worsen PMS or perimenopausal symptoms.
Nervous System Overload: December often pulls us into sympathetic dominance (fight-or-flight mode). This state:
Reduces digestive function
Impacts sleep quality
Increases muscle tension and headaches
Suppresses reproductive hormone balance
Makes us more sensitive to stimuli
Your nervous system influences everything, from progesterone production to how your cycle feels each month.
The Naturopathy + Acupuncture Connection
Understanding how the body responds is the first step. The second step is knowing where natural therapies can help.
Naturopathy supports:
Blood sugar stabilisation
Nervous system nourishment
Adrenal and thyroid balance
Nutrient replenishment
Healthy oestrogen metabolism
Gut and liver function, which influence hormone clearance
Acupuncture supports:
Regulation of the autonomic nervous system
Reduced cortisol and adrenaline
Improved sleep quality
Balanced reproductive hormones
Digestive function
Emotional steadiness through the Heart–Shen system
Together, these modalities create a whole-body approach to hormone balance, especially during seasons of increased stress.
Hormone Support Tip #1: Start Your Day with a Grounding Breakfast
Eating breakfast within an hour of waking is one of the most powerful (and simplest) ways to support your hormones during the holidays.
Why the timing matters
Your body experiences a cortisol awakening response (CAR) each morning, a natural spike in cortisol that helps you wake up and feel alert. Eating food during this window:
Reduces excessive cortisol output
Stabilises blood sugar
Improves energy and mood
Reduces mid-morning cravings or crashes
Supports ovulation and progesterone production
Skipping breakfast or relying on caffeine alone can overstimulate the HPA axis, contributing to anxiety, irritability, and hormonal imbalance.
What to include
Aim for:
Protein (eggs, yoghurt, tofu, beans, turkey slices)
Healthy fats (avocado, nuts, seeds)
Fibre (vegetables, berries, whole grains)
Even during a busy season, a simple breakfast like eggs on toast with greens or yoghurt with nuts and berries can make a huge difference.
How acupuncture supports this rhythm
Regular acupuncture sessions help regulate cortisol levels and promote a stable morning rhythm, especially if you wake feeling anxious, wired, or too tired to eat.
Hormone Support Tip #2: Prioritise Protein + Colour at Each Meal
Your hormones rely on raw materials, amino acids, antioxidants, healthy fats, B-vitamins, minerals, to function smoothly.
Why protein matters
Protein provides amino acids used to build:
Reproductive hormones
Neurotransmitters (serotonin, dopamine)
Enzymes that support metabolism
Tissue repair after stress or lack of sleep
During a season of indulgence, protein helps:
Slow glucose absorption
Stabilise energy
Reduce cravings
Support lean muscle and metabolism
Prevent the blood sugar rollercoaster
Why colour matters
Colourful foods (berries, leafy greens, beetroot, citrus, carrots) provide antioxidants that support phase I and phase II liver pathways, essential for oestrogen metabolism. When these pathways are overwhelmed, PMS, bloating, breast tenderness, and heavy periods may worsen.
Naturopathic Note: Nutritional medicine aims to balance meals in a realistic, gentle way, no restriction, just nourishment.
Acupuncture link: Digestive-focused treatments support absorption, reduce bloating, and improve appetite regulation, common concerns in December.
Hormone Support Tip #3: Reset Your Circadian Rhythm with Morning Light
A few minutes of natural light in the morning works wonders for hormone health, especially during the busy festive season.
Here’s why it matters
Morning light influences your suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), the master circadian clock. When this rhythm is aligned, the body regulates:
Cortisol
Melatonin
Progesterone
Thyroid hormones
Mood and energy cycles
Just 5–10 minutes of outdoor light can improve sleep quality, reduce PMS mood swings, and support perimenopausal symptoms.
Acupuncture and circadian health
TCM theories see the Liver, Kidney, and Heart meridian systems as central to sleep–wake patterns. Acupuncture supports:
Deeper sleep
Calmer evenings
More stable morning energy
Reduced night-time waking
Perfect when December’s late nights begin to accumulate.
Hormone Support Tip #4: Create a Gentle “No List” for Nervous System Support
Your nervous system plays one of the biggest roles in hormonal balance, and it notices every over commitment.
The clinical reality
Every time you say “yes” without capacity:
Cortisol rises
Digestion slows
Blood sugar fluctuates
Progesterone drops
PMS worsens
You feel less resilient
Women often take on the emotional and organisational weight of the season. Creating a deliberate “no list” supports your hormones as much as any supplement.
Naturopathic perspective: Protecting your nervous system protects your hormonal rhythm. A small example: saying no to one event may improve your sleep, reduce cravings, and prevent a cycle flare-up.
Acupuncture’s role: Acupuncture is powerful for:
Releasing emotional tension
Supporting the vagus nerve
Regulating the stress response
Helping the body shift from “doing mode” to “rest mode”
Many clients say they leave sessions feeling calmer, clearer, and more grounded, which often makes boundary-setting easier.
Hormone Support Tip #5: Swap Guilt for Gentleness
The holidays can trigger guilt around food, rest, boundaries, or unmet expectations. But guilt has a physiological effect, it increases stress hormones.
The science of self-compassion
Compassion activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which:
Improves digestion
Reduces inflammation
Steadies blood sugar
Supports reproductive hormone balance
Enhances emotional resilience
Your body doesn’t need punishment or detoxes in January. It needs care, nourishment, and recovery.
Naturopathic view: We often see women enter the new year depleted from overextension. Gently supporting adrenal and liver function, rather than extreme detox protocols, creates more sustainable results.
Acupuncture and emotional regulation: Acupuncture influences the Heart–Shen system, which governs emotional steadiness, clarity, and inner calm. It is a powerful therapy for:
Anxiety
Rumination
Feeling overwhelmed
Emotional reactivity
Perfect for a season that can heighten emotional sensitivity.
Deeper Seasonal Supports: Where Naturopathy and Acupuncture Can Help
While small steps make a meaningful difference, some people need more personalised support during the festive season.
Nutrient support (general guidance, not prescriptions)
These nutrients often become depleted during periods of stress:
Magnesium: supports stress resilience, sleep, PMS, muscle tension
B vitamins: essential for adrenal function and metabolism
Omega-3 fatty acids: support mood and reduce inflammation
Adaptogens (e.g. withania, rhodiola): may help the body modulate stress
A naturopath can individualise these based on your symptoms, cycle, and health history.
How acupuncture supports holiday hormonal balance
Acupuncture may help by:
Regulating the HPA axis
Balancing oestrogen and progesterone
Enhancing ovarian blood flow
Supporting digestion and liver function
Improving sleep depth and quality
Reducing anxiety and agitation
Many women choose acupuncture in December to help buffer the season’s intensity before symptoms peak.
When to Seek Extra Support
If you notice any of the following during or after the holidays, it may be a sign your hormones need deeper assessment:
Worsening PMS or PMDD
A cycle that becomes irregular
Heavier or more painful periods
New onset anxiety or sleep struggles
Low energy that persists for weeks
Perimenopausal symptoms intensifying
Difficulty coping with everyday stress
Fertility challenges or irregular ovulation
A combined naturopathy and acupuncture approach can create meaningful change by supporting both the biochemical and nervous system foundations of hormonal health.
A Season to Honour Your Body’s Rhythm
The holiday season doesn’t need to derail your hormones, but it does ask for gentleness. When you understand how your body responds to stress, sugar, sleep changes, and emotional load, you can support it with small shifts that create steadiness.
Eat breakfast to anchor your cortisol.
Add protein and colour to stabilise blood sugar.
Step outside each morning to reset your rhythm.
Protect your nervous system with clear, compassionate boundaries.
And above all, treat yourself with the gentleness your hormones thrive on.
You don’t need to perfect the season, you only need to support yourself through it.
If you feel your hormones, cycle, or energy could use personalised care, naturopathy or acupuncture can help you move into the new year feeling balanced, steady, and supported.
Dr Bri Bryant
A degree-qualified naturopath and acupuncturist with a passion for holistic, evidence-based care. Known for her warm and grounded approach, Bri supports clients in feeling their best using natural remedies rooted in both tradition and science.
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