What is “Herbstmüdigkeit”? (for my international readers) – my definition goes like this – Autumn tiredness is when your get-up-and-go has clearly gone somewhere warmer.
Are you feeling that old familiar feeling already?
Here’s why …
Our European summer of 2026 certainly left its mark.
Summer wasn’t simply hot. It felt relentless. Austria experienced its hottest summer since measurements began. Temperatures reached an extraordinary 41.2°C in Lower Austria. The country endured extreme drought. The Danube fell to historic lows in places. Fields turned brown. The ground became hardened and cracked.
We could see what was happening to the landscape we live in. We slept badly. We were forced to slow down.
We experienced less patience, more irritability; perhaps, we became less enthusiastic about cooking or exercising.
And despite drinking more, resting more or simply carrying on because life required it, some of us arrived at the end of summer feeling done, depleted – literally and figuratively “cooked”.
And now, autumn is creeping in slowly. Summer hasn’t entirely left. The days remain remarkably mild and the warmth is lingering – which is beautiful – but something has changed …
The wind …
You might recognise your “inner wind” as tiredness and restlessness which doesn’t disappear after a good night’s sleep.
Maybe you’re feeling scattered and have difficulty concentrating?
Perhaps a particularly irritating combination of feeling exhausted and wired at the same time.
Ayurveda asks us to notice qualities.
Is something hot or cold? Dry or moist? Heavy or light? Still or moving?
You don’t need to know anything about Ayurveda to recognise the logic or connection that whatever is going on outside of you, can influence what is going on inside of you.
Autumn is adding wind, movement and change.
After months of heat, dryness and adaptation, perhaps your system doesn’t need more stimulation, more rushing and more extremes.
Perhaps it simply needs nourishment and replenishment. Moisture. Warmth. Regularity. Rest. A little more stability.
Less.
It’s time to do less.
It’s time to accept that our outer landscape changes what our bodies need from us.
My POV?
I think autumn is asking for steadiness and not perfection.
Not a three-week detox. Not a complicated new morning routine requiring seven powders, twelve supplements and getting up at 4.45 a.m.
Just steadiness.
Regular meals. Cooked food as the weather cools. Soups, stews, dal, rice, oats, pumpkin and root vegetables. Cooked apples and pears. Good oils. Gentle spices: cumin, coriander, fennel, cardamom and ginger. And because this autumn is still mild, we don’t need to pretend it’s January either. On a warm day, eat lighter.
A reasonably regular bedtime.
Your nervous system loves predictability.
Give yourself five quiet minutes before diving into messages, meetings and demands.
Breathe. Pause. Settle.
Get outside. Look outside. Look inside. This is Ayurveda.
In traditional Ayurveda, seasonal care has always been about protecting our resources rather than waiting until those resources are exhausted, and, it has a name for these seasonal changes.
None of these are particularly dramatic interventions. It’s self-care with a some Ayurvedic intelligence.
So, if you aren’t charging into October with enormous enthusiasm, perhaps there is nothing particularly mysterious about that. You’ve just come through months of heat, dryness and adaptation.
Before asking yourself to do more, do a little less.
You don’t have to know your Dosha to begin. You simply have to notice.
What’s happening around you?
What’s happening within you?
And what would create a little more balance between the two?
This is where Ayurveda begins.
If you would like to know more about simple, practical adjustments to your daily routine, what’s on your plate, or how to create a healthier work-life rhythm, or, come in for a nourishing, replenishing and relaxing Marma Point massage, contact me.