Tips for Resetting Your Rhythm After Holiday Sleep

Why you feel “off” after a holiday  

After a holiday, it’s common to feel out of sync. During the day, your energy feels low and your thinking sluggish. At night, even when your body feels tired, sleep doesn’t come easily—and scrolling on your phone often makes it worse.

This is especially common after travel. A few days of late nights, early mornings, and packed schedules can leave your body stuck on “holiday time,” even after daily routines resume.

It’s not just fatigue — your body clock may be delayed  

What you’re experiencing often isn’t simple tiredness. Repeated late nights can shift your circadian rhythm.

This can show up as:

• feeling tired but not sleepy at night

• reduced daytime alertness, focus, and motivation

When sleep loss stacks up  

Short sleep doesn’t always affect you immediately. But when sleep loss repeats over several days, its effects tend to accumulate.

Research tracking nearly 2,000 adults across eight days found that:

• isolated short nights caused smaller, short-lived changes

• repeated short nights led to worsening mood and increased physical discomfort

Notably, declines often accelerated after two to three consecutive nights of insufficient sleep—helping explain why post-holiday fatigue can worsen quickly after a few “manageable” days.

Common post-holiday mistakes  

When schedules feel off, people often try to fix sleep quickly. Three common strategies can backfire.

• Forcing an early bedtime
  Going to bed much earlier than usual can increase alertness if the brain isn’t ready to wind down, often delaying sleep even more.
• Using caffeine to push through
  Caffeine may boost short-term alertness, but studies link it to reduced sleep time, lower sleep efficiency, and longer sleep onset later that night.
• Catching up with long or frequent naps
  Long or late naps can reduce nighttime sleep pressure, making it harder to fall asleep and lowering sleep quality.

Why these strategies don’t work  

These approaches focus on clock time and immediate alertness, but ignore whether the body has transitioned from “day mode” to “night mode.” When daytime stimulation stays high and sleep is forced at night, circadian signals become even more delayed.

A science-based reset: two levers that work together  

Post-holiday sleep disruption usually involves two overlapping issues:

• delayed internal timing (night signals arrive too late)

• an overactivated brain that struggles to slow down

Addressing both tends to be more effective than focusing on just one.

Lever 1: Help the body recognize nighttime again  

Consistent cues—especially light exposure and routine—anchor circadian timing. Helpful strategies include:

• bright light in the morning

• dimmer, calmer evenings

• gradual shifts in sleep timing

In cases of delayed sleep timing, research suggests melatonin, when used appropriately, may help shift the sleep window earlier and improve sleep efficiency. In this context, it functions as a timing cue rather than a sedative.

Lever 2: Quiet the mind so sleep signals can land  

Even with better timing, sleep can remain difficult if mental arousal stays high. Reducing late-night stimulation and building a predictable wind-down routine can help.

From a neuroscience perspective, relaxed states are often linked to increased alpha brain-wave activity, which supports the transition into sleep. Some studies suggest L-theanine, a compound found in tea, may support relaxation by promoting this calmer brain state—helping sleep signals take effect more naturally.

Takeaway  

Feeling “off” after a holiday isn’t a personal failure. In most cases, it reflects a temporary shift in circadian timing combined with a brain that hasn’t fully slowed back down.

Quick fixes—like forcing early bedtimes, relying on caffeine, or oversleeping during the day—often miss the root cause. A smoother reset works best when both timing cues and mental arousal are addressed together, allowing sleep to return more naturally and daytime clarity to follow.

Reference

1. Lee S. Naturally Occurring Consecutive Sleep Loss and Day-to-Day Trajectories of Affective and Physical Well-Being. Ann Behav Med. 2022;56(4):393-404. doi:10.1093/abm/kaab055

2. Gardiner, Carissa, et al. “The Effect of Caffeine on Subsequent Sleep: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Sleep Medicine Reviews, vol. 69, 2023, p. 101764. ScienceDirect.

3. M. Perlis, P. Gehrman et al. “Sleep EEG in Patients with Primary Insomnia.” (2016).

4. Timothy H. Monk, Daniel J. Buysse, Julie Carrier, Bart D. Billy, Lynda R. Rose, Effects of Afternoon “Siesta” Naps on Sleep, Alertness, Performance, and Circadian Rhythms in the Elderly, Sleep, Volume 24, Issue 6, September 2001, Pages 680–687.

5. Pachole N, Thakur A, Koshta H,Menon M, Peepre K. A study to explore patterns and factors of depression, anxiety and stress among students preparing for competitive exams in central India. Int J Community Med Public Health 2023;10:1419-25.

6. Sanchez-Betancourt Javier, Meza-Amaya Arturo et al. “The effectiveness of exogenous melatonin versus transcranial magnetic stimulation on the quality of sleep, memory and mood of young adult people.” Pharmacy & Pharmacology International Journal(2019).

7. Nobre,Anna C, A. Rao , and G.N.Owen ."L-theanine,a natural constituent in tea, and its effect on mental state.Asia Pacifc Journal of Clinical Nutrition 17.S1(2008):167-168.    

Educational content only; not medical advice. Follow your product label and consult a healthcare professional as needed (especially if pregnant/nursing, managing conditions, or taking medications).