December can feel like a sensory avalanche. Between year end deadlines, social events, family expectations and the never ending scroll, our nervous systems take a hit.
It’s about creating boundaries that protect your mental health, hormones, and energy.
Here are ten gentle ways to reset before the new year begins:
1. Create a “closing ritual” for work
A simple list, tidy desk, or end-of-day walk tells your brain the day is over. It helps your cortisol normalise and helps you switch from “doing” to “being.”
2. Put your phone in another room for the first hour of your morning
This prevents the immediate dopamine hit that fuels stress, comparison and distraction.
3. Replace scrolling with something tactile
Crochet, journalling, colouring, reading, watering your plants, anything that brings you back to your body.
4. Move your body daily (gently is enough!)
Walking, pilates, stretching, dancing in the kitchen. Movement is a nervous system regulator.
5. Schedule tech-free micro-moments
10 minutes at lunch. 15 minutes after work. Two hours on a Sunday morning. Your phone can sometimes feel like an extension of your body, and when you cant go 10 minutes without checking your socials it may be time to create some healthy tech boundaries.
6. Curate your social media
Unfollow what drains you, expand what inspires and educates you, mute the noise that pulls you into comparison or the ‘bad news’ spiral.
7. Prioritise face-to-face connection
Even brief, real connection reduces cortisol and increases oxytocin, your grounding hormone. Swap your instant coffee for an exchange with a barista, a connected moment with a loved one in your house hold or a pet that that you adore.
8. Spend time outdoors daily
Sunlight and green space lower sympathetic activation, regulate circadian rhythm and improve mood. Make sure you get even small amounts of exposure to early morning, midday and end of day natural light.
9. End your day with a nervous-system downshift
Breath work, herbal tea, magnesium, a warm shower or simply lying with your legs up the wall are all winners that we love.
10. Let yourself rest without guilt
Rest is not unproductive. It’s foundational for hormone balance, fertility, metabolic health and emotional clarity. The end of the year is your permission slip to slow down
