It’s supposed to be rest. Time off work. A chance to recover.
Instead, you’re lying awake at 2am, mind racing through gift lists, family dynamics, and everything you need to do tomorrow.
Holiday insomnia is remarkably common. The exact time when you most need good sleep is often when sleep becomes most elusive.
Here’s why — and what actually helps.
Why Christmas Ruins Sleep
Disrupted routines
Your normal sleep schedule — the wake-up alarm, the bedtime routine, the rhythm of work and rest — disappears.
You go to bed later. You sleep in. You nap randomly. You eat at strange times.
Your circadian rhythm gets confused. And a confused circadian rhythm means poor sleep.
Overstimulation
More people. More noise. More events. More food. More alcohol. More everything.
Your nervous system is in overdrive. Switching that off for sleep becomes harder.
Stress disguised as celebration
Even “fun” events are physiologically stressful. Cortisol doesn’t distinguish between good stress and bad stress.
Your body is in alert mode. Alert mode and sleep don’t coexist well.
Alcohol
Holiday drinking is culturally encouraged. But alcohol is terrible for sleep.
Yes, it helps you fall asleep faster. But it:
- Fragments your sleep cycles
- Reduces REM sleep
- Causes early morning waking
- Dehydrates you
- Interferes with deep sleep
You might sleep eight hours and wake up feeling like you got four.
Anticipation and rumination
The mind races:
- Did I buy the right gifts?
- Will tomorrow go well?
- What if that conversation goes badly?
- I forgot to…
- What about…
Rumination is sleep’s enemy.
Environmental changes
If you’re staying somewhere else — parents’ house, in-laws, hotels — the unfamiliar environment disrupts sleep.
Your brain is more vigilant in new places. Evolution built this in for safety. Helpful in the wild; unhelpful at your mother’s house.
What Actually Helps
Protect your wind-down time
Regardless of what time you’re going to bed, protect the hour before it.
Lower lights. Reduce stimulation. Step away from intense conversations. Let your nervous system begin to settle.
This is harder during the holidays. It’s also more important.
Limit alcohol before bed
If you’re drinking, finish earlier in the evening and hydrate.
The closer alcohol is to bedtime, the worse your sleep quality.
Move your body
Holiday eating plus sedentary days equals poor sleep.
Even a short walk helps. Movement processes stress hormones and tires the body appropriately.
Create micro-routines
You can’t maintain your normal schedule, but you can create portable rituals:
- Same wind-down tea regardless of location
- Same breathing exercise before bed
- Same five-minute meditation
- Same sleep hypnosis session
These cues tell your brain “sleep is coming” even in unfamiliar environments.
Address the racing mind directly
A busy mind needs to be emptied, not ignored.
Write down everything you’re thinking about. Get it out of your head and onto paper. Your brain can relax when it knows the information is captured somewhere.
Hypnosis for Holiday Sleep
Hypnosis is particularly effective for sleep because it works on the subconscious — the same level where insomnia patterns live.
Before bed
A sleep hypnosis session as part of your wind-down routine:
- Calms the nervous system
- Slows racing thoughts
- Creates transition between “day mode” and “sleep mode”
- Can be used in any environment
When you can’t sleep
Lying awake at 2am, put on a session.
Not as a fix, but as something to do with your mind. Let the guidance occupy the space that rumination was filling.
Processing the day
Holiday days are full. Hypnosis can help you process and release what happened, rather than carrying it into sleep.
Morning after poor sleep
If you slept badly, a morning hypnosis or meditation session can help reset:
- Reduce the grogginess
- Settle the nervous system
- Set you up better for the day ahead
Specific Holiday Sleep Challenges
“I’m staying at my parents’ house and I never sleep well there”
Childhood environments can activate old patterns. Your nervous system might be more vigilant.
Solution: Create maximum control over your sleep environment. Eye mask, earplugs, familiar sleep session on your phone. Make your space as controlled as possible.
“I’m anxious about Christmas Day”
Anticipatory anxiety is real. The mind rehearses what might go wrong.
Solution: Instead of trying to not think about it, use hypnosis to visualise the day going well. Give your subconscious a positive script to run.
“I can’t stop thinking about family stuff”
Family gatherings surface old dynamics. You replay conversations, anticipate conflicts, process old hurts.
Solution: Dedicated journaling or processing time during the day, so it doesn’t all surface at bedtime. If needed, a hypnosis session for letting go of the day.
“I drank too much and now I’m wide awake at 4am”
Classic alcohol-induced insomnia. Nothing to do but ride it out — sleep won’t come easily.
Solution: Stay in restful mode. Low lights. No screens. Maybe a gentle hypnosis session. You might not sleep, but you can still rest.
Using InTheMoment for Sleep
Tell the AI what’s happening:
“I can’t sleep. My mind is racing about tomorrow.”
“I’m at my parents’ house and I can’t settle.”
“I drank too much and now I’m awake in the middle of the night.”
Sessions adapt to your specific situation. Not generic sleep meditations — actual support for what’s keeping you awake.
Sleep stories can loop all night if you need continuous audio. Ambient sounds play as long as you want them.
Struggling to sleep during the holidays? Try a sleep session with InTheMoment — tell us what’s keeping you awake and get a session that actually helps.