Sleep and the “Silly Season”

It’s that time of year again!

The Australian “silly season” is well and truly here – and arguably here to stay until the end of January! It’s a time of celebration, connection, and indulgence, as well as, ideally but not necessarily, rest and recuperation. It can also be a period characterised by higher levels of stress, disrupted routines, and limited sleep. 

KEY INSIGHT

• The Silly Season in Australia lasts from late November until well after the New Year, and is characterised by indulgence, socialising, late nights, and summer heat. It can be detrimental to healthy sleep.

From festive end-of-year workplace and school parties to Christmas celebrations, the “no-man’s-land” between Christmas and New Year, New Year’s Eve itself, summer vacations, and school holidays that culminate in the Australia Day public holiday (which in 2026 also gives us a long weekend), life takes on a decidedly different pace at this time of each year. Add summer heat and humidity, and you have a potential recipe for disaster for your sleep quality and patterns over this period.

What is the “Silly” Season?

The “Silly Season” is a colloquial term that generally refers to the festive period surrounding Christmas and New Year. In Australia, it lasts from the end of November (when end-of-year school activities begin to overlap with annual get-togethers and Christmas parties) until early to mid-January, and the Australia Day long weekend at the end of the month is a last-hurrah for school holidays, summer vacations, and is the final official mini-break from work until Easter.

The season can be a great opportunity to unwind and socially connect, recharge, and, understandably, you want to embrace every moment. It’s a time for festive shopping, winding down the year at work and school, ramping up social gatherings, eating more, drinking more, taking vacations, staying up later, sleeping in, and afternoon-napping. 

For a lot of us, it’s also a period when we experience higher levels of stress as we deal with everything from not-always-enjoyable family obligations, financial concerns, busy or messy end-of-year work schedules, holiday traffic, hot and sticky weather, and the sense that, since it’s the “happiest time of the year”, we should be feeling and presenting ourselves as such. It can be utterly exhausting. 

Even if you are indeed loving everything about this season, it can wreak havoc on your health in a variety of ways, and your sleep is a big piece of this puzzle.

How Does the Silly Season Impact Your Sleep?

A good night’s rest is important every night. While the occasional late night or disrupted sleep isn’t too big of a deal, regular disruptions to your sleep schedule and/or compromised sleep quality do take their toll. 

So much of what comes with the Australian festive season can actively disrupt sleep – both its quantity and quality:

• Interrupted sleep schedule. Late nights translate to fewer hours of sleep. Even if you make up for it by sleeping in or sleeping during the day, the ramifications for your sleeping patterns aren’t great – and even if it’s not feeling like an issue now, it will when you go back to work and your routine and you need to retrain your body and mind for a “normal” sleep pattern.

• Overeating and alcohol consumption. Overindulgence goes hand in hand with Christmas, New Year, and being on holiday. It’s all great fun – but it can also leave you feeling sluggish, unwell, and sleeping poorly. Poor quality sleep, even without a food or alcohol hangover, can leave you feeling headachy, fatigued, and with difficulty focusing and performing at your best. Moreover, alcohol disrupts sleep cycles.

• Excitement/stress. Stress is a major enemy of good sleep, and excitement (even the best kind) is translated by your body and mind as stress. We’re not suggesting that you not get excited (enjoying life is important), but try to take time to wind down before bed each night and maintain your sleep hygiene. 

• Lack of exercise. Getting regular exercise is a great way to promote better health and sleep. When your regular routines go by the wayside in favour of socialising, or you’re waiting for cooler weather or are under the pump trying to get work done before the holidays, exercising can be the first thing you drop. This can have detrimental effects on your sleep. 

• Summer heat. It’s undeniable that the Australian summer can be very uncomfortable, and there’s not much more unpleasant than hot, sticky nights that make it hard to sleep.

What About Snoring?

If you are a snorer, chances are it may all get worse at this time of year. Eating large meals, eating too close to bedtime, drinking too much alcohol, and lack of exercise all actively contribute to snoring.

Surviving the Silly Season: Tips to Optimise Sleep Over The Holidays

• As much as possible, maintain your sleep schedule. Try to get up at the same time each day, and go to bed at the same time each night. Set an alarm if you need to. If your sleeping patterns trend later over the holidays, gradually reset back to your normal schedule over a few days (at least) before you need to return to your regular routine.

• Consume food and alcohol in moderation. Be sensible and balance indulgence with wellness. Don’t arrive at a party or other event hungry – have a healthy protein-rich snack and a large glass of water before you go. Be mindful – don’t overfill your plate! Choose your favourite foods to savour and try to include some healthier choices alongside those more decadent options. Be careful of overdoing sugary treats – these can make you feel almost as bad as too much alcohol will. Say no to sugary sodas and moderate your alcohol intake, having plenty of water between alcoholic beverages. Choose non-creamy cocktails. Limit caffeine.

• Say no to a food coma and hello to a power nap. We all love a daytime nap over Christmas, but letting yourself go into a “coma” is only going to mess up your nighttime sleep. If you really need a nap, set an alarm to make sure you don’t nap longer than 20-30 minutes, and ensure you’re not napping later than about 3-3.30 pm.

• Get moving. Whatever you like to do to get active, work it into your schedule. Go for a swim, walk on the beach, play a casual game of cricket, go to an air-conditioned gym, go for a bushwalk, or just stroll early in the morning or after dusk in the evening around your block. Every little bit helps, and it’s not just great for your sleep and your physical health, but your mental health as well.

• Cool down. The ideal sleeping temperature is around 18°C. Use a fan in your bedroom if you need to, or an air conditioner if available and not too loud. Use cotton or linen sheets and pyjamas (or sleep naked). Keep a glass of water by the bed to sip on and hydrate properly throughout the day.

• Prevent snoring. If you snore, you’re already on the back foot in terms of getting a great night’s sleep. Try using the SnoreMD stop snoring mouthpiece to prevent or minimise snoring and see your GP to ensure you don’t have sleep apnoea. 

• Be kind to yourself. Not everybody loves Christmas. Not everybody loves family get-togethers. Not everyone is a social butterfly – and introverts can find the entire social obligation aspect of the festive season overwhelming. Say “no” if you can and you feel you need to. If you need to take time out, do it. There’s nothing better sometimes than a lazy day with a book or spent bingeing your favourite TV show. 

Why Not Give a Gift of Better Sleep – to Yourself or Another?

Christmas is a time of giving, and the New Year is all about those Resolutions!

Wouldn’t better quality sleep in 2026 be a win-win? 

Say goodbye to snoring!

SnoreMD is an effective anti-snoring device successfully used by thousands of people in Australia. Made here in Australia, it is the local brand of a biomedically engineered and patented, medical-grade snoring mouthguard that is worn in the mouth while you sleep. It works by gently moving the lower jaw slightly forward and thereby opening the airways. This improves airflow through the mouth and throat and prevents the vibration of soft tissues that causes snoring.  

Discover more about how SnoreMD works or order SnoreMD now. (See what other SnoreMD users have to say! And find us on Instagram @snoremd_au – we have lots of great content for you to enjoy!)