Every January, I hear the same quiet question from women around me.
“Why do I feel so tired, even after the holidays?”
As an Indian woman, a doctor, a mother, and someone closely connected to multicultural communities, this exhaustion feels deeply familiar. For many women, the new year does not begin after rest. It begins after weeks, sometimes months, of giving more, caring more, and doing more, while quietly putting their own health last.
Holidays that are busy, not restful
In Indian and multicultural families, holidays are rarely slow or peaceful. They are filled with travel, visiting relatives, hosting guests, cooking elaborate meals, attending functions, and keeping traditions alive. These moments are meaningful, but the workload behind them is heavy, and it is mostly carried by women.
Extra cooking, cleaning, planning, shopping, managing children, caring for elders, and making sure everyone feels welcome often happen on top of full-time work or ongoing caregiving. By the time January arrives, many women are already physically and emotionally drained.
The hidden load women carry
Beyond visible work, women carry a constant mental load. Remembering appointments, planning meals, organising school routines, managing family expectations, and holding emotional responsibility for others rarely stops. Even when tasks are shared, women are often the ones thinking ahead.
This constant planning for others leaves little space for the mind to rest. Over time, it leads to chronic stress and ongoing fatigue.
Pressure to be perfect
Many women feel pressure to be good at everything: career, parenting, marriage, home, and social life. There is often an unspoken expectation to cope quietly and not complain. Rest can feel like laziness. Asking for help can feel uncomfortable.
Even during downtime, the mind keeps working, replaying worries, planning the next task, or thinking about what was forgotten. This makes it hard to truly relax and directly affects sleep and energy levels.
Stress, anxiety and emotional exhaustion
Emotional stress is physically draining. Constant worry, anxiety, and emotional responsibility make the body feel heavy and slow. Women balancing many roles often live in a state of constant alertness.
This kind of tiredness does not disappear with sleep alone. It needs understanding, support, and sometimes professional care. Ignoring emotional exhaustion only allows it to quietly turn into physical illness.
Sleep that is disturbed and irregular
Holidays often disrupt sleep routines. Late nights, early mornings, travel, guests, and irregular schedules affect sleep quality. Children’s screen time often increases during holidays, which disrupts their sleep and, in turn, their parents’ sleep.
Many women lie in bed exhausted but struggle to fall asleep or stay asleep. Poor-quality sleep night after night adds to persistent daytime fatigue.
Iron deficiency: a very common cause
One of the most common and overlooked reasons women feel tired is low iron. Women lose iron through periods every month. When periods are heavy or prolonged, iron loss becomes significant over time.
Low iron can cause constant tiredness, weakness, headaches, breathlessness, hair thinning, poor concentration, and feeling cold. Many women assume these symptoms are just part of being busy or getting older.
Importantly, iron levels can be low even before blood tests show anaemia. This means women may feel unwell while being told their results are “normal”.
Heavy periods should never be ignored. Bleeding that lasts many days, causes flooding, or interferes with daily life is not normal and is a common, treatable cause of long-term fatigue.
Nutrition, diet and alcohol
During busy periods, women often neglect their own nutrition. Meals are skipped, eaten late, or rushed. Many diets are low in iron, especially when red meat is limited. Traditional eating patterns today often lack variety.
Holidays also bring extra alcohol, sweets, and fried foods, which can reduce iron absorption and disturb sleep. Combined with irregular meals, this leaves women feeling weak and depleted.
Hydration is another often-forgotten factor. Even mild dehydration can worsen tiredness, headaches, and irritability.
Other health factors
Thyroid conditions, low vitamin B12, low vitamin D, and other nutritional deficiencies are more common in women and can slowly drain energy. These conditions often develop quietly, with vague symptoms that are easy to miss.
The physical tiredness of travel
Holiday travel itself is exhausting. Long flights, road trips, changing time zones, walking more, carrying bags, managing children, and trying to see more in less time all take a toll. Women often continue caring for everyone else even while travelling.
The body never truly switches off.
Fatigue is not just being tired
Feeling tired after a busy day is normal. Feeling exhausted most days, even after rest, is not. This kind of fatigue affects mood, patience, memory, relationships, and enjoyment of life.
Women should not accept exhaustion as the price of being caring, hardworking, or family oriented.
When to seek help
If tiredness is ongoing, unexplained, or affecting daily life, it is important to seek medical advice. Simple checks for iron levels, thyroid health, vitamin levels, sleep issues, and stress can make a meaningful difference.
Listening to the body early can prevent years of silent suffering.
A different way to start the year
The new year should not begin with women running on empty. Sometimes the most important resolution is not doing more for others, but finally taking care of yourself.
Rest is not selfish. Health is not optional.
When women care for themselves, they are better able to care for everyone else, with strength rather than exhaustion.
Dr Preeti Khillan is a contributor to The Indian Sun. This article reflects a personal perspective from a multicultural Indian woman and local medical practitioner.
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