Trying to get motivated for the new year but feel a little sluggish from the holidays? You’re not alone: We took a look at three and a half years of sleep, activity and stress data from more than 11 million global Fitbit users who opted into research to see how the festive season affects our health and wellness. Here are three things we found that can help you plan your health and fitness goals for the coming year (and might explain why you still feel exhausted).
- We get fewer steps and less sleep on holidays
Many of us took far fewer steps on December 25 (Christmas Day) and January 1 (New Year’s Day) — on average 1,750 fewer and 1,500 fewer than the yearly average, respectively.
And while the average sleep duration increases over the holidays by nine minutes, on December 24 and December 31, it declined. The data shows many of us went to bed later on these days and got 17 fewer minutes and 26 fewer minutes of sleep, respectively.
But now that the holidays are over, eligible Fitbit users can try setting a new step goal for yourself in the Fitbit app. Premium users
can also try the new Fitbit personal health coach (now available in Public Preview) to do things like set a personalized activity plan, compare your trends to others in your demographic and take a deep dive into your sleep stats to see what you can improve.
- Our bodies struggle to recover
The holidays can take a toll on the body and its ability to recover and we saw this in heart rate variability, or HRV, data. HRV is the variation between heartbeats, which measures how well your body’s recovering. On December 25, HRV decreased on average by 11% and a whopping 18% on January 1. Similarly, resting heart rate (RHR) on average increased compared to the rest of the year by 1.2% on December 25 and by 1.7% on January 1. An increase in RHR and a decrease in HRV indicates higher levels of stress, which can be caused by having a few drinks, eating heavier meals or getting less sleep (tip: high HRV and low RHR are good things).
The good news? Once our regular routines resume, recovery is swift and heart rate patterns return to what’s normal for you. A great way to help de-stress is with guided meditation in the Fitbit app, or by using the Relax app feature on your device for a guided breathing exercise.
- We move with the seasons
Our data also shows that our bodies move in sync with the seasons: We naturally lean into rest in the colder months and more movement in warmer weather. On average, we sleep an extra 16 minutes more in winter than in summer; so even though it’s a new year and you may feel ready to take on big new challenges, remember that if it’s still winter where you live, your body likely still needs more rest.
Even in the winter, though, our data found that weekly activity peaks on Fridays, possibly indicating it’s a high-energy day, and the start to the weekend when many have more free time! So, for those who have a fitness goal for 2026 — whether that’s a couch to 5K, a marathon, a backpacking trip or anything else — consider scheduling tough workouts for Fridays, and eligible Fitbit users can work with the personal health coach to create a customized routine.
Whatever your 2026 health goals are, reflecting on last year is a great place to start.
