Every year around this time, I notice it before I can name it — a low static of restlessness that has nothing to do with anything urgent in my life. The light is changing. The air holds a little less certainty than it did in July. And somewhere underneath the surface, my nervous system is already responding to a shift I haven’t consciously registered yet.

If you’ve felt something similar this month, you’re not alone — and you’re not imagining it. In my post on the August Reset, I wrote about the particular energy of this in-between stretch of summer. This piece goes one layer deeper: what’s actually happening in your body during seasonal transitions and how to help your nervous system regulate itself instead of white-knuckling through it.

Why Seasonal Transitions Affect Your Nervous System

Your nervous system is built to respond to change — that’s its job. Shifts in daylight, temperature, and routine are all signals your body registers, even before your conscious mind catches up. At the center of this response is the vagus nerve, the longest cranial nerve in the body, which plays a central role in shifting you between states of stress and states of calm.

heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, and the body’s regulation of inflammation, according to Massachusetts General Hospital. When your nervous system senses change, even a seasonal one, it can tip toward a subtle state of alert — which may explain that low hum of restlessness so many of us feel this time of year.

The good news: this same nervous system that reacts to change can also be guided back toward calm, gently and intentionally.

Signs Your Nervous System May Need Support

Seasonal nervous system dysregulation doesn’t always look dramatic. More often, it shows up as:

• Trouble settling into rest, even when nothing is wrong
• Sleep that feels lighter or more fragmented than usual
• A low-grade sense of urgency or a growing mental to-do list
• Feeling “tired but wired” in the evening
• Skin or digestion that feels slightly more reactive than usual

If any of this sounds familiar, it’s worth pairing with what I shared about your skin’s own body clock — your nervous system and your skin are more connected than most of us realize, and both respond to the same seasonal cues.

Gentle Ways to Regulate Your Nervous System This Season

1. Slow, extended exhales. Breathing out for longer than you breathe in signals safety to your vagus nerve. Try inhaling for four counts and exhaling for six, for just one minute, any time you notice that low hum of restlessness.

2. Cold water on the face or wrists. A brief, gentle temperature shift can help interrupt a spiraling stress response and bring you back into your body.

3. One consistent evening ritual. Rather than overhauling your whole routine, choose a single anchor — tea, a candle, a few pages of a book — and protect it nightly. A nervous system in transition craves predictability more than perfection.

4. Time in natural light, especially in the morning. Regulating your circadian rhythm directly supports your nervous system, and it’s one of the simplest tools available this time of year.

5. Return to stillness, even briefly. If you already have a Meditation practice—or want to start one—this gentle introduction is a good place to begin. Even five quiet minutes can help your nervous system remember what safety feels like.

An Invitation, Not a Fix

None of this is about eliminating the restlessness of a seasonal transition — it’s about giving your nervous system enough support that the transition feels less like something happening to you and more like something you’re moving through.

If you’re craving more support this season, explore more reflections in Nervous System + Sleep, or start with the August Reset rituals for a more complete seasonal practice.

With love, Michelle

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