Winter

By Kristi Cruise

Winter keeps asking us to slow down, and most of us keep telling it no.

We live in a world that treats winter like an inconvenience. Like something to push through. Like a season you survive so you can get back to your real life in spring. But our bodies do not agree with that story. They never have.

Long before deadlines and calendars and artificial light, humans evolved inside seasons that told the body exactly what to do. Winter meant less light, less food, less movement, and more stillness. That rhythm shaped our biology. It shaped our nervous systems. It shaped how we repair, restore, and make meaning.

Even now, when we pretend we are above it, our bodies still respond.  

In winter, the light changes, and that matters. Shorter days affect the brain directly. Sleep hormones shift. Energy turns inward. Focus softens. The body is not failing when this happens. It is conserving. It is protecting. It is doing what it was designed to do.

Winter naturally favors rest and repair. The nervous system leans toward calm rather than urgency. Muscles want to soften. The mind wants fewer inputs. The body pulls energy inward for immune support, cellular repair, and long-term resilience. That is why cravings change. That is why sleep needs increase. That is why stimulation feels louder and effort feels heavier.

This is not weakness. This is wisdom.

Psychologically, winter is an inward season too. This is when reflection comes up. When old memories surface. When grief, truth, and unfinished emotional business ask for space. It is not always comfortable, but it is deeply purposeful. This is how integration happens. This is how we metabolize what the rest of the year keeps us too busy to feel.

The problem is that modern culture refuses to slow down. We are taught to override these signals. To stay productive. To stay bright. To stay on. And when we cannot, we assume something is wrong with us.

Nothing is wrong with you.

When humans do not slow down in winter, the body pays the price. Cortisol stays elevated. Sleep quality erodes. Creativity dries up. Emotions pile up without release. Burnout does not come from doing too little. It comes from doing too much for too long without honoring cycles.

Winter is not a dead season. It is a root season.

Trees do not grow leaves in winter. They strengthen roots. Humans do the same when we allow it. Rest now is not quitting. It is storing energy. It is preparing the ground. It is making future growth possible.

Spring only works if winter was honored.

And here is the part we do not like to hear. If winter does not get its stillness, it will take it later. Through illness. Through exhaustion. Through emotional crashes. Through forced stops we did not choose.

Slowing down now is the gentle option.

So if your body feels heavier. If your motivation feels quieter. If your nervous system is asking for less, listen. That is not failure. That is biology. That is thousands of years of wisdom moving through you.

Winter is not asking you to disappear. It is asking you to root.

And rooting is not nothing. It is everything.