How can I manage holiday stress this year?

The holidays often bring heightened expectations. But when you bite off more than you can chew, stress escalates. A simple yet powerful tip: learn to say no (or “not this year”) to the events, commitments, or obligations that feel draining rather than fulfilling.

What are some ways to manage holiday stress naturally?

Prioritize mindful breathing and movement, set boundaries, create mindful pauses and prioritize sleep, rest and downtime.

4 Proven Ways to Reduce Holiday Stress Naturally

Q: What is the difference between stress and anxiety?

Stress and anxiety are not the same. One way to think of it: stress is the body’s reaction to external pressure; anxiety is more internal, persistent, and carries a heightened sense of threat, even when objective risk is low.

The holiday season is often advertised as a time of joy, celebration and connecting with loved ones. But for many people, it can also bring an uptick in stress. Between travel, family dynamics, gift-giving expectations, budget pressures, and the general change in routine, it’s easy for “holiday cheer” to give way to tension, fatigue, and even anxiety.

Below, we get into how to understand stress—and how it differs from anxiety—and share several natural ways to manage it. We also highlight specific tools—guided meditations from the SunnyFit app, yoga routines that help relieve stress, and other extra recommendations, to help you glide through the holidays with more ease.

What Is Stress?

At its core, stress is the body’s natural response to demands or pressure, whether from external sources such as deadlines, travel, family, or internal like expectations, and perfectionism. When your brain perceives a threat or demand, the autonomic nervous system activates the sympathetic nervous system to initiate the “fight-or-flight” response, releasing hormones like adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol, raising heart rate and blood pressure, and priming the body to act.

Stress vs. Anxiety

Stress is not the same as anxiety, though the two are closely linked and often overlap. Stress tends to be a response to a specific situation or change, like hosting a large family gathering, flying across time zones, or wondering how to pay for holiday gifts.

Anxiety is persistent worry or fear, often about things that may or may not happen, and may not always have an obvious external trigger. Anxiety can become chronic and interfere with daily functioning.

One way to think of it: stress is the body’s reaction to external pressure; anxiety is more internal, persistent, and carries a heightened sense of threat, even when objective risk is low.

Both stress and anxiety can create similar physiological patterns: muscle tension, disrupted sleep, irritability, difficulty concentrating. But because stress is (at least initially) situational and often temporary, the strategies to manage it may differ somewhat from those used for generalized anxiety.

It’s important to note that both conditions should be managed with your personal health provider, especially if they impact your ability to enjoy and process the normal activities of daily living. However, below are some general tips to help you manage the holiday season.

Proven Ways to Manage Holiday Stress

Prioritize movement and mindful breathing
When you’re stressed, your breathing becomes rapid, shallow and chest oriented. Your muscles tighten, circulation shifts, and you may feel on edge. Research and wellness guides emphasize that even gentle movement and deeper, slower breaths can reduce cortisol and help activate the parasympathetic (“rest and digest”) nervous system. ^[1]Try this: Set a timer for 5 minutes during a busy holiday day. Sit comfortably, place one hand on your belly, inhale deeply through the nose—feel the belly rise—hold briefly, exhale slowly through the mouth. Repeat 8-10 times. Then take a walk—preferably outdoors, free of screens or heavy conversation. Movement helps flush stress hormones and restore energy.
Set realistic boundaries and expectations
The holidays often bring heightened expectations. But when you bite off more than you can chew, stress escalates. A simple yet powerful tip: learn to say no, or “not this year,” to the events, commitments, or obligations that feel draining rather than fulfilling.

Before accepting every invite or hosting extra events, pause and ask yourself, “Will this serve my wellbeing or drain it?” If the latter, it’s okay to decline. Even small acts of boundary-setting—going home at a reasonable hour, limiting alcohol, carving a quiet moment—help your nervous system feel safe rather than in overdrive.
Create micro pauses or mini meditations
Amidst holiday season chaos it can feel impossible to take an hour for a full meditation or yoga class. That’s where micro-meditations shine.

Try this: While wrapping gifts, pause for one breath, noticing the feeling of the paper, the texture of the ribbon. Or at the airport gate, close your eyes for 60 seconds: feel your feet on the ground, lengthen your spine, hear the quality of sounds all around you. These little resets interrupt the “stress loop” and help you return to calmer more centered version of yourself.
Emphasize sleep, recovery, and down‐time
Stress rarely lives alone. It often piggybacks on lack of sleep, irregular eating, too much screen time, and little recovery. The holidays can disrupt routines, so it’s helpful to anchor a few non‐negotiables.

For example, aim for 7+ hours sleep, eat reasonably balanced meals—even if you indulge—and carve 15 minutes of quiet time for reading, journaling or stretching into your day.

Guided Meditations on the SunnyFit App

The SunnyFit app makes it easy to access wellness practices at home, on the road, or even in a hotel room. On the app there is a “Meditation” category. You can also access yoga, stretching and other mind-body practices. Here are three types of guided meditations you’ll find in the SunnyFit environment:

10-Minute Lunchbreak Reset

A brief seated meditation that you can do even in a break between errands or holiday tasks. The focus: clear the mind, reconnect to your breath, let go of upcoming to-dos.

Tip: Set a timer, use headphones if possible, and let go of the external world for those ten minutes. After finishing, stretch and drink a glass of water.

“Micro Meditation” Pause

This is a super short, guided practice meant for high-stress moments (e.g., waiting in a long line, stuck in traffic, holiday shopping chaos).

Tip: Bookmark this session in the app for instant access. Use it when you feel your heart rate rising or your thoughts are getting frenetic.

10-20 Minute Mindful Body Scan/Wind-Down

For evenings or travel when you want to release tension and prepare for restful sleep, make this meditation your go-to. Meditation has many benefits, like reducing cortisol and supporting sleep quality.

Tip: Lie down, or sit quietly. Follow the guided voice to scan from feet to head, breathe slowly, release muscle by muscle. This session is ideal after a long travel day or before a big gathering.

How to integrate guided meditations into your routine

Schedule a morning meditation when you wake up—just 5-10 minutes helps anchor the day.
Midday, use the lunch-Break Reset to re-center.
At night, or post-event, use the Body Scan to release what’s built up.
If you feel a surge of stress from arguments, over-booked schedule or travel delays, pull out the Micro Meditation.

By combining guided meditations with movement and breathing strategies, you’ll build resilience and reduce the cumulative “holiday stress load.”

Yoga Routines That Reduce Stress

A growing body of research supports yoga as an effective complementary intervention for reducing stress and anxiety while improving overall psychological and physical health. Regular yoga practice, which integrates physical postures (asanas), controlled breathing (pranayama), and mindfulness, has been shown to lower perceived stress levels, decrease cortisol concentrations, and improve autonomic balance by enhancing parasympathetic activity. ^[2]

Yoga can significantly reduce symptoms of generalized anxiety and depression, likely by modulating the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis and promoting relaxation responses. ^[3] Beyond mental health, yoga also improves sleep quality, heart-rate variability, flexibility, and overall well-being. ^[4]

Here are a few yoga routines you can weave into your holiday schedule (many of them accessible via the SunnyFit app, or you can use any similar flow):

10-Minute Morning Gentle Flow

A short sequence to start your day calmly. For example: seated cross-leg, deep belly breathing → neck stretches → cat-cow → single-leg circles → child’s pose → downward dog. SunnyFit offers a “10-Minute Yoga Workout” that follows this format.

Why it helps: Awakens the body, loosens the spine, stimulates breath awareness.

15-20-Minute Restorative (Evening/Travel) Flow

Focuses on slower transitions, deeper holds and gentle twists to release tension accumulated during the day. Choose poses such as reclining twist, legs up the wall (viparita karani), sofa savasana, gentle chest opener.

Why it helps: Encourages the parasympathetic nervous system and signals to your body you’re winding down.

20-25-Minute “Stress Relief” Full Body Flow

For a little more movement that’s still gentle and mindful try sun salutations (or modified versions), warrior II → extended side angle, triangle, pigeon, forward fold, child’s pose, savasana. SunnyFit’s Mindful May section offered “25-Min Intermediate Yoga” as a moving-meditation.

Why it helps: Combines movement and breath to release physical tension, improve flexibility and restore mental clarity.

Micro-Stretch/Desk Yoga (5-10 minutes)

Practical for when you’re waiting at the airport, sitting in a family room, or between errands this flow provides quick relief. Focus on shoulder rolls, chest opener, wrist stretch, forward fold, gentle seated twist.

Why it helps: Short sessions prevent tension buildup when you don’t have a full block of time.

Breath-Focused “Pranayama + Gentle Pose” Session (10-15 minutes)

Start seated, practice alternate‐nostril breathing (nadi shodhana) or 4-7-8 breath technique, then move into a gentle seated twist, forward fold, child’s pose and savasana.

Why it helps: Breath control is one of the fastest ways to calm the nervous system, and when paired with even minimal movement, it's very effective for stress relief.

How to tweak yoga for stress relief

Use a quiet space or headphones even if it’s just 10 minutes.
Resist the urge to “sweat it out” if you’re already stressed—opt instead for restorative or gentle flows.
Set an intention before you begin (e.g., “I release what I cannot control,” “I honor my body and mind,” “I am present in this moment”).
End each session with 1-2 minutes of stillness or seated breath-focus.

Other Tips For Reducing Stress

Beyond movement, meditation and yoga, here are a few additional suggestions that can bolster your stress-management toolkit during the holidays:

Keep a gratitude journal. Regularly noting what you’re thankful for shifts the brain toward positive focus, reducing rumination and stress.
Stay hydrated & moderate caffeine/alcohol. These substances influence your nervous-system sensitivity, sleep quality and stress reactivity.
Use restful rituals. Even something simple like a warm bath with calming music, a short walk after dinner, or reading a few pages of a fiction novel can signal your nervous system to relax.
Plan ahead & delegate. One major source of holiday stress is mismanaged tasks and last-minute scrambling. Write down your calendar, tasks, and ask for help.
Travel smart. If you’re flying, allow extra time, bring a “comfort kit” (earbuds, eye mask, downloaded meditation, water), move around during layovers, and practice one of your micro-meditations before you board.
Connect meaningfully, not maximally. Instead of trying to attend every event and please everyone, choose 1-2 meaningful interactions (a walk with a family member, a phone call with a friend) and dedicate full attention rather than splitting time among many shallow engagements.

The Bottom Line

The holidays can bring joy, wonder and connection, but they can also bring stress, fatigue and overwhelm. By understanding what causes stress for you, you can respond more effectively. The SunnyFit app offers accessible guided meditations and yoga routines you can tap into whether you’re at home, traveling or between events. The goal isn’t to eliminate all stress, but to manage it—to keep your nervous system regulated, your mind clear, and your body and spirit energized.