The Emotional Nutrition of Sleep: Holiday Edition

It’s 2:30 A.M. and I can’t stop thinking about the green bean casserole. Well, not the casserole itself, but the annoying little fried onion thingys that go on top. You know the ones you only use for that one casserole, so you keep what’s left in your cupboard “just in case” you find some other purpose for them, only to throw them out the next Thanksgiving because you absolutely cannot trust them anymore. 😒🥣🧅

And of course, you have to get them, otherwise nobody will eat essentially beans and cream of mushroom soup, and the thought of listening to your husband complain for an entire year about how he “sure hopes there’s green bean casserole next year” is simply intolerable. 🙄🍽️

Picture this. I spent the whole day planning my groceries around choir concerts, hockey games, and the Hunger Games-level chaos in the store while people fight over the last can of pumpkin pie filling. 🎶🏒🔥🥧 I get everything done, finally lay my poor head on my cozy pillow and start drifting into the sweet release of sleep… and then it happens.

The one item I forgot.
And you guessed it… it’s those damn fried onions. 😤🧅💀

Here I lay, getting more annoyed by the second, because my husband is snoring peacefully like he didn’t just create this entire situation by being the only human alive who actually likes the casserole. He is blissfully unaware of the hellscape that is returning to the grocery store the day before Thanksgiving, praying there is even one non-jumbo container left. 😴😑🛒🔥

Deep breaths, Stacy. Deep breaths. 😮‍💨😮‍💨
It’s Thanksgiving. Life will be fine without the onions. (Probably.)

And then my ADHD brain decides to take me down a rabbit hole of “what the hell are those things anyway.” Like, can I make them myself? Is there a fermenting process? Can I grow them overnight? Do I want to become the person who makes artisanal fried onions? 🤦‍♀️💭🌪️🧅

I try to stop myself. “Don’t do it, Stacy. Do not look at your phone. Nothing good comes from phone use at 2:30 A.M.” 📵📱
And then the intrusive thought whispers…

“Just look on Pinterest. They’ll have a recipe.”
👀✨📲

And boom…..It’s 6:30 A.M. My alarm goes off and my phone is still warm from my late-night spiral that started out in fried onion making that somehow morphed into the origins of daylight savings time. 🔥📱⏰😵‍💫

Anyhow. As I drag myself out of bed, running on fumes and fried onion resentment, I finally realized something…….the holidays are hard enough when we’re well rested. But doing them exhausted? That’s an impossible feat. 😫☕❌

Here’s the thing. Holiday overwhelm hits ten times harder when you are running on four hours of sleep, caffeine, and blind determination. Sleep is not just “rest.” Sleep is the emotional Wi-Fi that keeps your brain from buffering in the middle of a sentence. 🧠📶😵‍💫 When we don’t get enough of it, our mood regulation tanks. Anxiety spikes. Irritation sits right at the surface. And depressive symptoms start sneaking in and whispering their nonsense. This right here is a contributing factor as to why we lose our minds when we can’t find the tape under our leg for the fortieth time when we’re wrapping presents! 🎁🫠🤬

Lack of sleep makes everything feel heavier.
The traffic. 🚗
The crowds. 🧍‍♀️🧍‍♂️🧍
The conversations. 😑
The person in the grocery aisle who leaves their cart like they’re parallel-parking a yacht. 🛒⛵😂

Good sleep hygiene doesn’t make life perfect.
But it gives your brain the tools to handle stress without spiraling. 🧘‍♀️✨
It is the holiday equivalent of turning off your high beams to see through the fog. 🌫️🔦

Before you roll your eyes, sleep hygiene does not have to mean a rigid nighttime routine with lavender spray and 47 steps. We’re not talking about a wellness retreat. This is the holiday season, where your to do list reproduces overnight, you have to people, and everyone suddenly needs something baked. 📝🍪😩

So here are simple, human sleep hygiene habits that help, especially when your brain wants to debate at 2:00 A.M. over whether or not Jack could have fit on the door at the end of Titanic (He totally could have!). 🚢🧊🙃

⭐ Give yourself a bedtime buffer

Not a bedtime……A buffer.
Ten to fifteen minutes where you stop scrolling, stop baking, stop planning, and just let your brain downshift. 🧠⬇️📵
Your nervous system cannot go from “wrapping presents at warp speed” to “peaceful slumber” without a transition. 🎁⚡➡️😴

⭐ Dim the lights an hour before bed

Nothing dramatic. Just turn off the overhead lights and let lamps do the work. 💡🕯️
Holiday lights count. They are basically melatonin with sparkle. 🎄✨💫

⭐ Swap one scroll for something cozy

No one expects you to stop using your phone at night. But you can soften the blow.
A book. 📚
A silly podcast. 🎧
Watching the dog dream. 🐶💤
Anything that doesn’t trigger a mid-slumber existential crisis.
Or you know… checking your favorite blogger for a new upload. Just saying. 😉

⭐ Get warm before bed

Warm shower. Warm socks. Warm blanket. 🔥🧦🛏️
Heat tells your nervous system to chill out.
This is basically holiday emotional sedation. 😌

⭐ Stop drinking caffeine after mid afternoon

I know, I know, I’m mad at myself too. I’m sorry. ☕💔
But caffeine after 3:00 PM turns your brain into a squirrel who found a Red Bull. 🐿️⚡, you may fall asleep, but your mind will be reenacting full musicals at 3:00AM. 🎭😂

⭐ Use a soft sound to wind down

Rain. Fireplace crackle. A fan. 🌧️🔥🌀
Something that makes your thoughts slow down instead of pondering all your life choices that lead you to this very moment.

⭐ Make your room a nest, not a storage unit

You just need a place that signals “rest” instead of “I should fold that laundry.”

Blanket. Pillow. Soft light. 🪹💡
Boom. Instant nest. 😴✨

⭐ Give your brain a landing place.

If your mind races, do a tiny brain dump on paper before bed. Not a journal entry. 📝💭 Not a novel. Just write down the things your brain keeps shouting at you. Once it’s on paper, your mind can stop buzzing like a mosquito wanting your blood.

⭐ Accept the imperfect nights

Some nights your sleep will be trash and that is fine. Holidays do that. You are not doomed. You just try again the next night…. consistency is the key. None of this will work overnight (hehehe….see what I did there!), but overtime your body remembers effort, not perfection.

Better sleep during the holidays is not about being strict. It is about giving your mind a softer landing, so you are not walking into Thanksgiving running on fumes, caffeine, and emotional improvisation. 🦃☕😵‍💫 Rest is emotional nutrition, and honestly, it is the only thing keeping us from shouting at strangers over parking spaces. 🚗😤

And rest is not just sleep. It is taking a moment to reset, so you are not snapping at your kids because you woke up late and they are moving at glacial speed. 🐢😮‍💨
It is choosing grace over guilt and remembering that being late is annoying, not catastrophic. Janice in payroll will survive. 😆🗂️

Taking time for yourself matters all year, but especially during the holidays. Whether it is a full night’s sleep, a quick afternoon nap, or a “trip to the store” that conveniently includes looking at Christmas lights, 🎄🚗✨ making sure you are okay is the real non-negotiable.

Because let’s be honest. If we do not take care of ourselves, how are the holidays going to survive without us? 💛🎁🌟

Written by Stacy Dahlke, LPC, an EMDR-trained therapist supporting anxious, exhausted adults in Wisconsin through trauma, identity struggles, and adult ADHD.