From Hibernation to Healing: A Love Letter to Sofa Friends

January is fast becoming my hibernation season. This is new for me. Usually, my weekends are a blur of brunches, quick coffees, and dinners. I do a very bad job of squeezing waaay too much into two days normally.

But so far in January?

Not so much.

My weekends now look like this: wake up, roast vegetables (its become my new thing), watch something mindless, and take a nap.

And I’m good at it.

Like, weirdly good.

This might even carry into February—who knows?

It’s also had me thinking about a TikTok I saw by @healwithmeg,   who was taking about the idea of “couch friends.”

Now, I need to address the obvious here: I’m from London. We don’t say couch. We say sofa. But for the sake of her brilliant point, I’ll stick with her phrasing.

Her idea is simple but genius. Couch friends (or sofa friends) are the people you can do absolutely nothing with and still feel connected. You don’t need an agenda or an itinerary. No coffee dates, no spin classes, no hiking plans. You just exist together. You sit, you chat (or not), you snack (or nap), and somehow, it fills your soul.

It reminds me of spending time with Alice over Christmas in New Zealand. Yes, I went on beautiful hikes and drank some incredible wine.

And yes, I took so many naps that it bordered on a religious experience. But my favorite moments? The sofa ones. Sitting with Alice, sometimes talking, sometimes watching Friends, sometimes both of us drifting off halfway during an episode.

I should admit something here: I am that irritating person who says the lines of Friends episodes about 30 seconds before they happen. I can’t help myself. Alice, tolerates it. That’s what makes her my true sofa friend.

I know, it doesn't sound like much. And even though the sun was shining outside, sitting with Alice, eating chips and dips felt like where I should be.

For me, this is my happy place.

Sitting with a friend you love, saying everything or nothing is special,  it’s calming. It’s what I really needed.

I think that’s why @healwithmeg’s video really sat with me. She nailed it. Those sofa days aren’t just fun, they can heal you.

So here’s to the sofa friends.

The ones who don’t need a big plan to spend time with you. The ones who don’t care if you’re saying the lines with the Ross from Friends or falling asleep mid-conversation.

And here’s to January hibernation—my unexpected new tradition.

Who knows?

Maybe it’ll stick around for February.