Naturopathic Self-Care Activities For the Holidays
By Dr. Lauren Geyman, Naturopathic Doctor of Founder of Umbel Health
Four times a year, we’re greeted with an equinox or a solstice demarking the official shift in seasons. As a naturopathic doctor, I think a lot about how these changes show up in our bodies, in our foods, and how to guide my patients to recognize health flares and make adjustments that serve them best through intentional self-care activities.
What’s unique about the fall-to-winter transition, though, is that it is hidden in the stretch of year we call “the holidays” – a joyous month-or-so that often dumps people into the new year feeling hungover, blood sugar crashing, maybe traumatized by another post-election family meal. And so beyond recommending seasonal veggies, I’m also talking a lot about how to stay healthy and feeling well without compromising on revelry. Because social gathering is, in my professional opinion, a huge tenet of health in itself. Below I’ve shared a few tips for supporting our bodies as winter approaches, with some specific recommendations for healing through the holidays.
Supporting our bodies as the season shifts
Eat WARM, mineral-rich foods to nourish and ground: It’s soup season! Warm cooked foods should be priortized over cold, raw this time of year. Think soups and stews, seasonal root vegetables like squash and sweet potatoes, and warming herbs like ginger and cardamom. Adding sea salt, seaweed, or miso to your dishes also provide minerals and hydration in this often dry time of year.
Support your circadian rhythm: Melatonin, our beloved sleep hormone, loves evening darkness and morning sunshine. As the days shorten, we’ll help encourage melatonin’s endogenous production at night by getting sunshine on the face within thirty minutes of waking. I especially recommend this for my patients who work-from-home, and might not get out until later in the day (or at all!). Morning light (no screens, no sunglasses) will give us energy for the day and better sleep at night. Before bed, keep lights dim and reduce screen time. Lean into being warm and cozy at home.
Support circulation: Cold weather constricts, and most of us naturally become less active too. This is okay! But keeping an intentional movement routine in a season when we may be outdoors less is important – think brisk walks, yoga, and stretching. Hot water bottles and sauna also help circulate blood and lymph. Warm herbal teas like ginger, cinnamon, and tulsi help keep us warm and hydrated too.
Support your immune system: It’s cold and flu season – kids are back to school, holiday indulgences might weaken our defenses (more on this below), and we could all use a little extra support. Most New Yorkers have low Vitamin D levels – get these checked and consider vitamin D, a high quality omega-3, and elderberry syrup as supplements to your healthy diet through the winter.
Healing through the holidays
Make a dish: It is a big season for eating, which is a beautiful thing. I recommend bringing a healthy dish to the function. Every year for Thanksigivng, I volunteer to make a vegetable side. I know I will feel better if at least half my plate is veggies, so I make salads, roast brussel sprouts, sautee green beans — whatever sounds good that year, is crunchy, is GREEN. It is simple and appreciated by all, and can bring food-levity to a notoriously heavy meal. You can do this too- invite people to join your healthy moment at any holiday function.
Eat at home between the holidays: With holiday travel and irregular schedules, it’s easy to fall off routines and start ordering out a lot. But I would argue that finding grounding practices in between events is extra important this time of year. Keep it simple – I recommend keeping eggs and yogurt stocked, so you always have a high-protein breakfast, meal prepping a big soup (this “Feel Better Chicken Soup” is my favorite to fall back on), and have your fridge and pantry stocked with nutrient-dense snacks like olives, organic turkey slices, arugula and lemon for salads, nuts and seeds.
Drink Less: In many ways, it is easier than ever to drink less. By easier I mean: more socially acceptable, more NA options available, and less part of the status-quo. In a season where the tendency is to drink more, this can be extremely helpful to keep in mind. My patients report less IBS flares, less painful periods, and fewer acne flares when they reduce alcohol consumption. Reducing alcohol directly reduces inflammation.
End on a high note: On the other side of the Holiday Season is the Resolution Season. It is always one of the busiest times in my practice, and I resonate with and respect the spirit of goal-setting in January. That said, I’d love to invite you to explore ending the year on a high note. Perhaps the opposite of hungover, blood-sugar crashing, and traumatized is hydrated, nourished, and resilient? I have a feeling we can all benefit from feeling this way in 2026.
Looking for more seasonal self-care activities?
Download Dr. Geyman’s free Gut Healing Guide for additional tips and practices to support your body through the winter months. It’s filled with holistic tools to help you feel nourished, grounded, and resilient.
More notes on somatics:
Dr. Lauren Geyman is a naturopathic doctor and owner of Umbel Health. She offers a holistic and preventative approach to health and wellness in her private practice based out of Brooklyn, NY. To learn more or schedule, go to www.umbel-health.com.