EP 11: Why You’re More Tired in Winter: The Science of Seasonal Energy & How to Work With It

Ever feel like you have so much energy in summer but can barely get out of bed in winter? Turns out, there’s nothing wrong with you—your body is simply responding to seasonal changes.

In this episode of Coffee with Carly, we’re diving into:

•  Why your energy levels fluctuate with the seasons (Hint: It’s not just "getting older")
•  The science behind circadian rhythms, melatonin, and vitamin D
•  How society pressures us to be “on” year-round (and why that’s unnatural)
•  Practical ways to align your work, rest, and habits with your body’s natural rhythms

If you’ve been feeling exhausted and wondering what’s up, this episode will help you embrace the seasons of energy—without guilt, burnout, or self-judgment.

Listen now and give yourself permission to slow down. Rest isn't lazy, it's a power move.

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Transcript

0:00:00 Carly: Foreign. Welcome to Coffee with Carly, your weekly wake up call to a happier, healthier life. I’m your host, Carly Shade, and I’m here to uncover how good life can get. Okay, I feel pretty excited, actually. I’m very excited about today’s episode. Mainly because I wrote it for, I wrote it for myself. That’s, that’s really what I do on this podcast, right? Is like I write lessons that I’ve gone through or reminders that I would future me would like to hear or past versions of myself wish that I heard something.

0:00:48 Carly: So I had my friend over just last week and so we were reminiscing on the past and we started talking, you know, like, what were we doing in 2020? What were we doing in 2021? And so naturally we turn to our phones, we go look at our photo albums to help remind us what we were doing, where we were. So I see a bunch of old videos of me. I was like a bunch of this workout class that I used to love. I was like doing a bunch of snowboarding and just like really active.

0:01:18 Carly: And I thought to myself, I was like, wow, I used to have so much energy. And then a few days later, I wake up, I come downstairs and my fiance Matt, he starts talking about how tired he is. He’s like, I really wanted to wake up at 6am, I just had so much to do. He’s like, but I was so tired, I just opted for more sleep. And then I was on Instagram and I saw a video of this woman talking about New Year’s resolutions and, and she’s like, if you walk outside and you see a bunch of bare ass trees, then you shouldn’t be making New Year’s.

0:01:51 Carly: New Year’s resolutions in January. So after being smacked in the face with this topic of energy and seasons like three times, I was like, you know what, we’re gonna make a podcast episode about this. But first I decided I was like, I need to do a little more research. So I did, and here’s what we found. Let’s first talk about this idea of humans and seasons and the fluctuation in our energy, right? Like, why is it that in the summer I can be up at 6am, hitting the gym, hiking, doing all the things, but in the winter, sometimes just getting out of bed is like my victory for the day.

0:02:31 Carly: Are we getting old? Is there something wrong with, you know, what I’m doing in my life? Like, do I need to make some massive change? Or is this actually how it’s supposed to be? Turns out Our ancestors lived in tune with the seasons. Who would have thought? Every single time, I swear, all it is is just coming back to the basics, but let’s keep going. Okay, so our ancestors lived in tune with the seasons.

0:02:59 Carly: They didn’t have artificial light keeping them up until midnight. They definitely weren’t chugging caffeine just to push through their natural energy slums. They followed the signals from nature. When the sun was up, they were up. When the sun was down, they rested. And during the colder and darker months, they slowed down even more. Okay, it’s about light, it’s about temperature. All of that matters. We’re going to dive into it in a second.

0:03:27 Carly: So biologically, we still follow these rhythms. This is what’s going on in our bodies. We just fight against it. Okay, what is so. So what actually is happening inside our bodies when the season’s changing that we’re fighting against? First up, circadian rhythm and light exposure. So circadian rhythm is talked about a lot. It’s basically just your internal clock. It relies on the sunlight to stay balanced.

0:03:53 Carly: So when we have long summer days, our bodies naturally produce more serotonin, which is like that feel good neurotransmitter and cortisol, which is both going to keep us alert and energized. So that’s happening. Second, when we have shorter days, the light exposure obviously decreases. So then what happens? Less serotonin, less cortisol. And then our body is also going to increase melatonin. Melatonin is the hormone that tells your body, hey, it’s time to wind down, getting a little sleepy.

0:04:29 Carly: And it actually increases as the sun sets. So that’s why at 4pm when the sun goes down in the winter, our body is like, oh, perfect, it’s bedtime. But the thing is, this is a totally natural response. But instead of honoring that, most of us are just pushing through with artificial lights, caffeine, and overpacked schedules. Okay, so number three of what’s actually happening inside our bodies is the role of vitamin D.

0:04:59 Carly: Sunlight helps our bodies produce vitamin D. It’s a pretty tough vitamin to get, and so sunlight helps with that, and it plays a role, vitamin D, in our energy levels and our mood regulation. So in winter, we get less sun exposure. Obviously, vitamin D levels drop, and that’s where we experience some of those seasonal dips and, like, energy and sometimes even that seasonal depression. So, side note from former dietitian Carly, Vitamin D is very, very hard to get naturally, especially via food.

0:05:35 Carly: So if you live in a place that like Washington or Ohio, where it’s cold and it’s cloudy and you experience winter, you should all be taking a vitamin D supplement. That’s just a side note. Okay, so fourth point that I found in my research of like, what’s biologically speaking happening in these seasons is that our chronotypes also vary by season. So our chronotype is actually like a genetic variation that we all have. You know, some people might say like, I’ve always been an early bird or, oh, I’m a night owl. So that’s, that’s essentially like your chronotype.

0:06:12 Carly: But even your chronotype, even though you are genetically predisto predispositioned or like built or made to be maybe an early bird or a night owl, even that chronotype can shift and, and change and vary with the shift in seasons. So research shows that even if you’re like, oh, I’m an early bird, you’re still gonna feel more sluggish in the winter and be, you know, more and more of a morning person in the summer.

0:06:42 Carly: So there’s four examples right there of like, biologically speaking, all of this is happening in our bodies whether we like it or not. Okay? This is how we are built. This is happening. Even if we’re like, well, I have a ton to do, this is still happening inside our bodies. We can’t change that. So why are we feeling so guilty for resting? Why do we act like we should be able to go at 100% year round when everything inside of our bodies, our cellular hormonal level is changing? It’s saying, you don’t need to do this, you shouldn’t do this.

0:07:19 Carly: But it’s so hard because societies, today’s society just doesn’t acknowledge the seasons. And it’s really annoying. Like, I’m really passionate about this. Like, the more that I’ve even kind of deep thought into this, I’m like, okay, this whole like holiday season is one of the busiest seasons of our lives. And it’s like when our bodies are the least energized. So anyway, that’ another side tangent. But like, let’s wake up people. This modern world expects us to be on all the time, but our work schedules don’t shift, schools don’t slow down, and we just keep acting like we are machines instead of living, breathing human beings that respond to light, temperature, and nature.

0:08:04 Carly: We are nature. We are animals. We are human beings that are made of the same thing as everything in nature. But we’ve just lost touch with how humans are actually supposed to operate. This Expectation to be productive 24 7, 365 days a year is not natural. And productivity isn’t just about working harder. It’s about working smarter. And working smarter means aligning your energy with your seasons. Okay.

0:08:45 Carly: This is just something I feel so passionate about. And like I said in the beginning, I wrote this for myself because I’m going through it. I just sat here and I realized I have started my own business. I’ve got this podcast, I’ve done a lot, and I’m like, oh, my God, I’m so tired. I sat there and I realized that I also overbooked the heck out of myself in March. And I’m feeling drained and I’m feeling scattered, and then.

0:09:06 Carly: Then I’m upset at myself for not having the energy like I used to. But the thing is, I know what my body needs, and I also want it. I’m like, I just. I want some time to. To research and to. To plant seeds and, and really kind of reflect and focus, but not in this go, go, go productivity, like constantly pushing and producing ways. I want it and I need it. And it’s still hard to do because it’s so ingrained in us through years, in society and all of that, that something is wrong with us if we want to listen to our bodies instead of actually realizing that this is what we are supposed to do.

0:09:49 Carly: So again, this is a reminder for myself and all of you. Highly driven, highly ambitious, probably operating under a lot of burnout, you know, nervous system, constantly in fight or flight rewired, people who are like, oh my God, I have to be on all the time. There’s so much to do. So knowing all this new information, knowing all these reminders, how do we actually honor our rhythms, our natural state, instead of fighting them?

0:10:21 Carly: Okay, as I just mentioned, number one, let’s reframe rest as a power move. Right? Just start saying that to yourself, like, rest isn’t lazy. It’s an absolute power move because it is. It’s strategic. Think about nature. Trees do not grow leaves in the winter. Bears don’t run marathons in January. There is a reason that nature slows down and it is restoring itself for the next season of growth. So if you push through exhaustion in winter, you are just depleting yourself.

0:10:54 Carly: So just start telling yourself, rest is not lazy. It’s a power move. Number two, shift your work and life rhythms. If possible, structure those big projects and the high output work for spring and summer when energy is naturally higher. Then use fall and winter for reflection, planning, slower creative work. This is absolutely. I know it’s hard, but something that I’m gonna do, right? So this is just a little side tangent of I don’t have all the answers, right? But I am committed to building a life that feels good, that lives in alignment with what I’m just talking about right now, that lives in alignment with my cycle as a woman and lives in alignment with the seasons as a human being.

0:11:42 Carly: So that’s a key thing is, is where can we zoom out, right? We stop being obsessed with what every day looks like, how much should I do each day. But we look at the year. So where in my business, especially if you’re an entrepreneur, like, stop showing up every day. The same with your business. Like, let’s look at the whole year, right? Am I. I have this course that I really want to launch. Well, what if we launched it in the summer? What if you kept sewing the seeds? What if you kept planning and reflecting?

0:12:10 Carly: And I know that this is hard. It’s so unnatural, ironically, to how we’ve been living. But I’m committed to this as well. So I’m very excited to keep you guys posted on. On things that, that I find and the strategies and just like my experience as I start to do this, because I’m really, really kind of taking a shift into cycle syncing and syncing up to the seasons of life. So stay tuned on this one. But I just. I know it’s hard. I know it is hard to change what we’ve always been doing.

0:12:39 Carly: Okay, so reframe. Rest is a power move. Shift your work and life rhythms if possible. 3. Light and sleep hygiene. Let’s get as much natural sunlight as possible during the day. Think about everything that I just talked about. All of that is triggered by light. And there’s absolutely. I am trying to get Randy the Mito Man. This is a shout out to him right now that wrote this book, Mitochondriac Manifesto, that’s all about light and the importance of it on so many levels.

0:13:07 Carly: All of you who thought that the mitochondria was never talked about and, like, never talked about since high school or whatever, whenever you learned it, it’s so important. So again, getting light and natural sunlight as much as possible during the day is going to be huge. To regulate your circadian rhythms and keep those melatonin levels in check. And of course, if we can avoid the blue light from screens late at night, that really does mess with your melatonin.

0:13:32 Carly: Um, if you’ve ever seen my Instagram page and you’ve seen Some of my crazy videos with those red light glasses, like the, the, the lenses are red, that is actually helping block blue light. So we’re gonna go in a whole episode about that. 4. Eat and Move seasonally. So craving warm, slow cooked meals in the winter, that’s because your body wants more grounding, more nourishing foods and then move your body in a way that feels good for the season.

0:14:02 Carly: Summer might be all about the high intense workouts and winter might just be yoga and strength training. And a note about also eating seasonally. The food that grows in a certain area captures the sunlight that’s in that area as well. So when you eat food, it actually breaks down the sunlight that’s in that food. So eating locally is also going to help align your cells and everything that’s going on with the seasons. If I’m eating a man grown in Mexico in December and I live in Washington, when I consume that mango, it’s going to actually break open that light and my body and my cells are going to think that I live in Mexico because it’s, it’s getting information from that light that that mango consumed.

0:14:51 Carly: So again, this is a galls goes into the mitochondriac manifesto book and I’m going to absolutely have like a three part series on the importance of light. But just a little side rant is like eating locally has so many benefits. Okay, last step. Give yourself permission to slow down. You do not have to be at your peak all the time. If you’re feeling more tired in the winter, just honor it. Adjust your expectations.

0:15:18 Carly: Plan for more rest. Stop thinking something is wrong with you. Stop forcing yourself into this summer energy. In this summer mindset, when it’s dead of January and there’s literally not a single leaf on a tree, embrace what your body is telling you. Okay, so the biggest takeaway, your energy is supposed to change. You’re not meant to show up the same way every single day of the year. The modern world might act like we’re robots, but what’s still happening in our biology is saying otherwise.

0:15:52 Carly: So if you’ve been beating yourself up for feeling low energy in the winter, stop it. You’re not lazy. It’s a power move. Remember, you’re just human. And the more that we listen to what our bodies are telling us, the better that we can work and live and thrive without burnout. Give yourself compassion. Be kind to yourself. And honestly, I know I’m writing this episode for me more than anyone else. It’s hard.

0:16:20 Carly: Take it one day at a time. But just give yourself some compassion and listen to what your body is telling you. Nothing is wrong with you, it’s just trying to talk to you. So that’s it for today. The episode that I needed most. And I hope that someone out there did too. Of course, if this episode did resonate with you, if anything landed, I’d love to hear from you. Tag me on Instagram, send me a dm.

0:16:49 Carly: Love hearing you know what sparked thoughts and kind of what landed. And then of course, if you are enjoying my podcast, don’t forget to leave a review rate it, subscribe, follow. It really, really helps me out so I can start sharing more with the world. And that’s it for today. So until next time, I hope you all honor your seasons, trust your energy, listen to what your body is trying to tell you, and I will see you soon.