The shift into winter can feel like an affront to daily routines. With the end of daylight saving time, evening light fades, plunging our routines into darkness and leaving us to wonder, “What time is it again?”
Experts suggest modern conveniences exacerbate this seasonal ambush. Home amenities like motion-sensor lights and smart home heating systems enhance our daily lives, but they can disrupt a fundamental human instinct: adapting to seasonal changes.
“We are living out of sync with what is happening in our bodies,” says Kari Leibowitz, a health psychologist and author. “Our modern conveniences can work against us because they really reinforce this idea that you don’t need to seasonally adapt or change your behavior.”
It wasn’t always this way. Native American cultures like the Zuni in western New Mexico have long celebrated the coming of darkness and winter with rituals of dance and costumes. Persians have been celebrating the beginning of long winter nights since 502 B.C.
So, how can we adjust our routines to embrace the changing seasons rather than resist them?
In the bustling markets of Tehran, the capital of Iran, people prepare for Shab-e Yalda, an ancient celebration of the winter solstice marked by storytelling, poetry, and seasonal foods that symbolize resilience and the promise of longer days to come.
Photograph by Fatemeh Bahrami, Anadolu via Getty Images
Why adapting to seasons matters for our health
The human body is designed to adapt to seasonal cues.
“During the winter our bodies go through a natural evolutionary cycle,” says Michael Varnum, a social psychologist and associate professor at Arizona State University, who studied seasonal effects on minds and bodies. “This isn’t learned behavior or coincidence. It’s part of some deeper, more instinctual programming.”
Our circadian rhythm, driven by exposure to light and darkness, regulates critical functions like sleep and energy levels. Morning light triggers the release of cortisol to energize us, while darkness stimulates melatonin, which prepares us for sleep. In winter, waking up in the dark can disrupt cortisol production and cause fatigue and changes in mood, says Leibowitz.
(Are you a ”lark” or an ”owl”? Your body clock holds the answer.)
“There are a lot of parallels to hibernation in many other mammals,” adds Varnum. “You also see people exercise less. They eat more calorie-dense foods. You see changes in motivation.”
In winter, these physiological changes are guided by our evolutionary roots. Early humans slowed their pace to conserve energy during food shortages, but in today’s world of abundant grocery stores and delivery services, we often live against nature’s rhythms, says Leibowitz.
Indigenous people, such as the Zuni in New Mexico, have long embraced the rhythms of nature, celebrating the changing seasons through ceremonies and communal gatherings.
Photograph by Paul Hahn, laif/Redux
Ancient practices for aligning with nature
Living out of sync with seasonal changes wasn’t always the way. Many ancient cultures and Indigenous communities embraced and integrated the natural cycles into their lives.
In ancient Persia, the festival of Yalda celebrated the longest night with poetry readings, watermelon and pomegranates, and candlelight to symbolize the triumph of light over darkness. The Celts, too, marked winter’s arrival with communal gatherings around fires during the solstice, viewing it as a time to reflect, renew, and connect with the cycles of nature.
(Paganism is on the rise—here’s where to discover its traditions.)
Indigenous communities across North America have long marked the changing seasons with rituals, says Rosalyn LaPier, an Indigenous writer and environmental historian at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
“People planned their own lives around the cycles,” she says.
According to LaPier, an enrolled member of the Blackfeet Nation in Montana and the Red River Métis, these times represent liminal spaces where deities exchange day-to-night duties.
Similarly, the Sámi people of Northern Scandinavia categorize winter into three distinct phases—autumn winter, winter, and spring winter—to recognize the subtle shifts within the darker months, says Leibowitz. This careful observance of seasonal shifts encourages mindfulness, a practice shown to help reduce anxiety and improve mood by fostering a deeper connection to one’s environment.
The aurora borealis illuminates the sacred Sámi island, a historic site where rituals honored the cycles of nature and the changing seasons.
Photograph by Stanislas Fautre, Figarophoto/Redux
How to embrace winter
Despite its bleak reputation, winter doesn’t have to be perceived negatively. Shifting our mindset can profoundly alter our experience of this season.
“It sounds like…mindset magic,” says Leibowitz, who wrote How to Winter, a book with strategies to develop a better winter mindset. “But there’s a really clear mechanism of how this can lead to beneficial outcomes.”
According to Alia Crum, a psychology professor and head of Stanford University’s Mind & Body Lab, our mindset—a set of beliefs that shapes how we perceive the world—affects our attention and, in turn, our behavior. So, focusing only on winter’s inconveniences can lead us to a negative outlook on the season.
(Here’s how Minnesota taught this anti-winter faithful find the magic of winter.)
To adopt a positive outlook, Leibowitz suggests a technique called “temptation bundling”—pairing an activity you dislike with something enjoyable. If driving home from work in the dark feels dreary, plan a candlelit dinner or a warm bath afterward to brighten your mood.
To buffer the shock of less daylight, throw a daylight saving or a winter solstice celebration. Planning a winter celebration trains your attention and gives you the agency to celebrate rather than get ambushed by seasonal changes.
Readying your space for winter is another strategy that taps into the power of rituals. Rotating those summer clothes to the back of the closet (yes, even in locales with milder winters) or setting up twinkly lights can send positive cues that winter is cozy.
“It can sound fluffy, but I think when you actually do it with the intention you can actually welcome and celebrate the darkness,” says Leibowitz.
Above all, experts agree on the importance of spending time outdoors—even in the cold.
(What is ”friluftsliv”? How an idea of outdoor living could help us this winter.)
“You don’t need to go to a national park,” says LaPier. “You can experience nature wherever you are. You just need to go outside.”
Noticing the changing landscapes, plants, and trees fosters a connection to the rhythms of the natural world. Leibowitz recommends taking photos of these observations, which can help cultivate mindfulness and allow for sharing positive experiences with friends.
“It’s not a total fix,” says Leibowitz about those long winter days. “But can you make your winter 20 percent better?”
Attuning ourselves to the seasons can also nurture self-compassion. Recognizing that our bodies and minds ebb and flow with the seasons allows for greater kindness toward ourselves during the holiday rush.
“Like the seasonal cycle, there is going to be a fallow period,” says Varnum. “But then it will warm up. Moods will shift. Energy levels will naturally change.”
We just need to pay attention to the cues.