Why So Many People Feel “Off” in Early Spring (A Nervous System Explanation)
Last week in clinic, I noticed something interesting. Patient after patient sat down and said almost the same thing.
“I don’t know what it is… I just feel off.”
One person told me her brain felt foggy and she couldn’t concentrate.
Another said she’d been unusually irritable with her family.
Someone else described feeling emotional for no obvious reason.
Nothing major had happened in their lives. No illness. No major stress. But by the end of the week, I realized I had heard the same story from several different people. And honestly, I wasn’t surprised.
Because this happens almost every year around this time.
We call it “March Slump.”
Your nervous system is adjusting to spring
Our nervous system is constantly responding to the environment, especially light exposure and seasonal changes.
In places like Vancouver, we spend months in winter with very little sunlight. By late winter, many people are running slightly depleted in nutrients that support brain and nervous system function, such as vitamin D, magnesium, and omega-3 fatty acids.
Then March arrives, and the environment changes quickly.
Daylight increases.
Sleep patterns shift.
Our circadian rhythm, regulated by the brain’s suprachiasmatic nucleus, begins recalibrating.
During this transition, it’s very common for people to experience symptoms such as:
brain fog
irritability
emotional sensitivity
fatigue
feeling “not quite like themselves.”
From a neuroscience perspective, this is partly because dopamine activity tends to increase with rising daylight before serotonin regulation fully stabilizes, creating a temporary state where people feel more activated but less emotionally grounded. This typically happens in March in Vancouver.
I often describe it as the nervous system feeling “wired but not grounded.”
How I see this show up in the body
One of the interesting things about working as an osteopath is that I often feel these changes in the body before people fully understand what they’re experiencing.
During seasonal transitions, I frequently notice patterns such as:
tighter breathing patterns
tension through the diaphragm
restriction at the cranial base
increased stress through the upper thoracic spine
These areas are closely connected to the autonomic nervous system, which regulates our stress response, emotional regulation, and sleep.
When the nervous system becomes slightly dysregulated, the brain often interprets it as brain fog, irritability, or feeling emotionally off balance.
Helping the nervous system reset
The good news is that this phase is usually temporary. Often, the body is already trying to adapt; it simply needs a little support.
Osteopathic treatment helps restore mobility through key areas such as the diaphragm, thoracic inlet, and cranial base, which can help the nervous system shift back toward a more regulated state. When that happens, people often notice clearer thinking, calmer mood, and improved sleep.
Sometimes the nervous system simply needs a small reset to find its axis again.
Understanding your nervous system is powerful
One of the most empowering things people can learn is how their nervous system actually works.
When you understand how environmental changes, stress, and sensory input influence your nervous system, it becomes much easier to recognize when your body is simply trying to adapt, rather than assuming something is wrong.
This is one of the topics I explore in my Empathic Power workshop, where we look at how highly sensitive or empathic individuals can learn to work with their nervous system rather than feeling overwhelmed by it.
If this topic resonates with you, you can learn more about the workshop here:
https://www.corepotentials.ca/empathic-power
If you’ve been feeling a little “off” lately, you’re not alone. There’s a good chance your nervous system is simply adjusting to the season. And sometimes the most helpful thing we can do is give the body the support it needs to settle back into alignment.