WHAT ARE THE SUNDAY SCARIES? THE COMPREHENSIVE DEFINITION
By Sergio Picos
December 20, 2022 - 23 minute read
The Sunday Scaries are the feelings of worry, nervousness and anxiety that set in on Sunday evenings because of the impending doom of Monday when you need to return to work, school or reality. It’s been estimated that over 80% of American suffer from Sunday Scaries on a regular basis. The Sunday Scaries are REAL, for sure.
Sunday Scaries used in a sentence:
“I had such a great weekend boating, hanging out with my friends and playing games, but now I’ve got the Sunday Scaries because I’m anxious about my big projects at work tomorrow.”
What are the Sunday Scaries, anyway?
An Overview of Sunday Scaries
The Sunday Scaries are real. You’ve heard of them. You’ve experienced them. They’re one of the most common ailments in modern society.
In this article we’ll answer popular questions about Sunday Scaries, and why multiple studies suggest over 80% of American suffer from the Sunday Scaries on a regular basis.
Read on for some deliciously entertaining answers to these popular topics surrounding Sunday Scaries:
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When Do Sunday Scaries Happen?
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10 Other Names of Sunday Scaries
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4 Studies About Sunday Scaries
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The Origin of Sunday Scaries
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The 5 Causes of Sunday Scaries
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10 Remedies for Sunday Scaries
When Do The Sunday Scaries Happen?
The Sunday Scaries start between 3pm and 5pm every Sunday when your fun weekend vibes start to transform into anxiousness for your impending Monday work responsibilities. More specifically, 3:28pm is the pinpointed inflection point.
The Other Names of Sunday Scaries
Sunday Scaries are known by numerous other names like the Sunday Blues, Sunday Syndrome and Sunday Dread. The term Sunday Scaries has even transformed into Monday Scaries in some circumstances when it takes longer than a Sunday night to fully recover from your weekend. If you’re over 30, you’ll understand what this means.
Other names for Sunday Scaries include:
- That Sunday Night Feeling
- The Fear Cage
- The Dawn of Mr. Scary
- The Shakes
- Sunday Terrors
- Morkkis
What Studies Say About Sunday Scaries
There have been numerous studies about Sunday Scaries from well-respected sources like LinkedIn, SleepJudge, Charisma & Monster.com.
One LinkedIn study found that 80% of professionals get the Sunday Scaries before Mondays, which is linked to workload, balancing to-dos and agonizing over projects you didn’t complete the previous week.
One SleepJudge study found that 81% of their participants experienced Sunday Scaries in anticipation of the Monday doom. The top symptoms were anxiety, poor sleep, depressive mood, increased irritability and insomnia. What’s more, almost half (47%) didn’t even have a drink of alcohol on Sunday, and still felt anticipatory anxiety for Monday.
Medium shared this Sunday Scaries article based on a Charisma study, which found that 88% of the 2000 participants felt anxious Sunday night before Monday morning. This also caused 68% of the study participants to admit the Sunday Scaries caused them to stay up later than they should Sunday evening, and 71% said their sleep schedule was derailed by the end of the weekend.
One Monster.com study found that 76% of Americans reported having “really bad” Sunday Scaries. Even though the whole weekend should be spent enjoying personal time, the Monster study found that most Americans agonized during the final 24 hours when there was only one more night of sleep between weekend freedom & Monday morning.
So how did this all come to be? When did the Sunday Scaries come into existence? Well, the answers might surprise you. What used to be called “Saint Monday” transformed into Sunday Scaries back in the early 1900s.
The Origin of Sunday Scaries
Sunday Scaries originated from the evolution of our modern day “weekend.” The weekend didn’t always start on Friday evening, and Sunday was historically the start of our workweek, not Day 3 of our weekend.
It was only 200 years ago that “the weekend” was only Saturday. So what happened? Did you know there were 5 big things that actually shape our current version of a weekend?
5 Big Things That Shaped the Modern Day Weekend
Ever wonder why we only get 2 days off? And not 1, 3, 4 or 5? Well there are 5 Big Factors that helped shape our modern day weekend:
- Americans started “Putting-Out” less
- Alcohol consumption
- The mystical “Saint Monday”
- Selling Cars
- Efficiency & Happiness
1. Americans Were "Putting-Out" Less
A little over 200 years ago, in the early 1800’s, Sunday was traditionally the only day of rest. The working class was on the clock 6 days a week. Saturday was payday, and Sunday was dedicated to leisure.
At that time, the United States was going through its first Industrial Revolution, and the working class began transitioning from the “putting-out” system to the factory system.
The “putting-out” system was basically a subcontracting system. Subcontractors would complete work off-site, either at their home or worship, for a central entity.
The Industrial Revolution introduced the factory system. The factory system was a new, centralized manufacturing system that incorporated heavy & expensive machinery to utilize economies of scale and mass production. Hence, American’s stopped “Putting-Out.”
While the working class started transitioning from farmlands & workshops to cities & factories, the “work week” started to evolve. The industrial revolution was one of the largest factors in changing work-life from autonomous & flexible to managed & structured.
2. Alcohol Consumption
Yes, even during the Industrial Revolution, people were already enjoying Sunday Fundays. In the 1850s and 1860s, Sundays were also filled with activities, many of which included drinking alcohol.
The new working class was divided into trade guilds who usually had their own singing and drinking establishments. They even bar-hopped together among their favorite taverns.
Then Monday morning would hit, and the hangovers would set in. Workers started traditions of skipping Monday work, which they called saving “Saint Monday.”
At that time, Sunday and Monday actually became the working class “weekend” and Saturday remained a full day of work.
3. Saving "Saint Monday"
During the Industrial Revolution, “Saint Monday” was the term adopted for Monday absenteeism after a Sunday of debauchery. Saving “Saint Monday” simply meant workers took another day of leisure to recover from their drunkenness and relax. They also referred to Saint Monday as “The People’s Holiday.”
In the new factory system, workers could also work extra hours to earn enough money to take extra days off. In addition, new railroads and technological advances in entertainment like music halls and theaters provided exciting new incentives for indulging Sundays & taking Monday off.
Notably, major industries became accustomed to workers saving “Saint Monday” and, in general, it was well tolerated.
However, Henry Ford did not.
4. Selling Cars
1896 was an iconic date for the United States; Henry Ford launched his first car, The Quadricycle Runabout. And by 1908 the first Model T was released.
Championed as the first, affordable mode of transportation, the Model T represented newfound freedom for the working class. The Model T was also highly durable, easy to maintain and inexpensive; a technology to be enjoyed.
But prior to those launches, Ford had to make substantial changes to the way his workforces were managed. He did not favor the unpredictable and flawed “Saving Saint Monday” work culture. The new Ford assembly lines required a reliable, punctual and dedicated workforce.
That being said, Ford understood that in order to sell cars, people needed ample time off to enjoy them. Since Ford’s best customers were his own workforce, he began giving his employees two-day weekends (Saturday & Sunday) shortly after the first Model T was released in 1908. Why would people buy Model T’s if they were stuck in factories 6 days a week?
5. Efficiency & Happiness
Let the people be happy & recharge! Notably, it wasn’t a government bill or a federal decision that solidified the 2-day break for the workforce, it was the progressive employers. The 40-hour work week regulations wouldn’t even be implemented by the federal government until 1938. It was the forward-thinking companies that started to discover that their workforce efficiency and productivity increased during 5 day workweeks after 2 days of break.
By giving their workforces adequate time to actually enjoy life and the new technologies of the industrial revolution, companies experienced a significant reduction in absenteeism and turnover.
The impact had massive implications across supplemental industries as well. Religious groups, consumer packaged goods, commercial leisure, transportation and retail industries all experienced massive growth.
Cheers to Henry Ford, eh? He’s one of the primary catalysts for creating the weekend, the 5-day workweek and the origin of Sunday Scaries.
The Causes of Sunday Scaries
The 5 primary causes of the Sunday Scaries are derived from biological, societal, personal, generational and drug related factors. What factor is causing your Scaries to flare up every Sunday evening?
- Biological
- Societal
- Generational
- Drug Related
- Personality Related
Biological Causes of Sunday Scaries
NYU Psychoanalyst & neuropsychologist Dr. Susanne Cooperman states that the biological causes Sunday Scaries are rooted in anticipatory anxiety. Anticipatory anxiety is a type of increased anxiety whereas the person gets significantly worried about an event or situation in the near future.
When your body experiences anticipatory anxiety, your body enters a natural “flight” or “fight” mode because of the impending uncertainty. During this process, your body’s adrenal glands release adrenaline and cortisol.
According to PsychologyToday.com, cortisol is “Public Enemy #1” and known as the “stress hormone.” Increases in cortisol to your body increases your blood pressure, interferes with learning & memory and can actually weaken your immune system. The end result of increased cortisol levels is notably increased stress & anxiety.
Cortisol’s partner in crime is adrenaline. Adrenaline is largely regulated by the amygdala, which is the emotional processing center of the brain. When your experience anticipatory anxiety, the amygdala sends signals to the adrenal gland, which releases adrenaline.
Adrenaline increases your heart rate, heightens your senses and increases your anxiety & nervousness. Notably, “adrenaline rushes” aren’t just caused by physical events like car crashes or horror movies, but also by manufactured events like dreams and thoughts.
Societal Causes of Sunday Scaries
The societal causes of Sunday Scaries are triggered by the fear of coming back to reality on Mondays. After spending a weekend tuned out with family & friends, Monday can be a cruel reintroduction to what’s going wrong in the world. That’s when negative news, emails & social media will start berating your senses and sending your anxiety into hyperdrive.
For example, in 2020, president Donald Trump, COVID-19 & the death of George Floyd were the leading issues driving detrimental, societal mental health problems. The US National Institute of Health actually acknowledged the term “Trump Anxiety Disorder” and the president’s societal effects on mental health.
In addition, the polarizing responses to recent societal events are significantly antithetical, and do not support any levels of calmness and human empathy. It’s safe to say that the easiest way to alleviate Sunday Scaries is to avoid all news and media before heading to bed Sunday night.
Generational Causes of Sunday Scaries
Different generations are plagued with different, niche anxieties. For the purpose of this article, we’ll focus on millennials. A recent LinkedIn study found that a staggering 91% of millennials reported suffering from Sunday Scaries on a regular basis. Also, it’s important to keep in mind that millennials aren’t babies anymore. Millennials were born between 1981 and 1996. So if you’re between 24 and 40 years old, you’re a millennial. Crazy eh?
According to PsychologyToday.com, millennials are the most anxious generation walking on earth. Unique generational causes for millennials include: the rise of social media, the ballooning of student loans, the rising cost of living, technological isolation, online dating & apps, information overload & paralysis, and cyber jealousy.
Each generation has their own cornerstone anxiety issues, but millennials are leading the charge.
Drug-Related Causes of Sunday Scaries
Yeah, yeah, yeah... Everyone reading this article knows drugs can be a significant cause for Sunday Scaries. We know as well as you do that binge drinking, “ripping lines” or “dropping X” during the weekend can send your Sunday anxiety through the roof.
Alcohol and Sunday Scaries
Let’s start with the first one: alcohol (yes, it’s a drug). Did you know your brain has a very hard time regulating your mood when you’re hungover? According to Carl Hart, Professor of Psychology at Columbia University who specializes in the neuropharmacological effects of drugs in humans, drinking alcohol heavily during the weekend depletes your brain of GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), serotonin & glutamate.
GABA helps us feel relaxed and handle stress. Lacking serotonin induces anxiety and depressed feelings. And glutamate is an excitatory neurotransmitter that’s inhibited while drinking alcohol. When you stop drinking, your body tries to “catch up” and make more glutamate which causes energy. This energy is what hinders you from falling asleep after a boozy night and fuels your existing anxiety with restlessness.
Friday night drinks + Saturday boozing = Sunday Scaries.
In short: after a weekend of boozing, alcohol:
- Depletes brain of GABA = can’t handle stress
- Depletes brain of serotonin = induces anxiety
- Depletes brain of glutamate = causes restlessness
Cocaine and Sunday Scaries
Not surprisingly, if you decide to rip some lines over the weekend, you’re even more vulnerable to feeling the Sunday Scaries (among larger issues). Not only does coke leave your brain deprived of serotonin, it also hinders the brain’s ability to reabsorb dopamine.
Dopamine is the brain’s ‘feel good neurotransmitter’ and is released when you experience something pleasurable like sex, amazing food or watching King Joffrey die in Game of Thrones.
Last but not least, a little cocaine up the nostril will escalate cortisol production in your brain (“stress hormone”). Increased levels of cortisol lead to anxiety, panic attacks and paranoia.
In short: after a weekend of ripping lines, cocaine:
- Depletes brain of serotonin = induces anxiety
- Hinders reuptake of dopamine = lack of happiness
- Increases cortisol levels = induces more anxiety
Molly/Ecstasy (MDMA) and Sunday Scaries
MDMA works a little differently to ruin your Sunday night. While coming down off MDMA does largely decrease the brain’s serotonin levels, MDMA’s negative effects are rooted more in the absence of norepinephrine than dopamine.
When high on MDMA, your brain releases copious amounts of norepinephrine which causes arousal, alertness, vigilance, attention and retrieval of memory. However, during your crash, your brain is largely inhibited from norepinephrine reuptake.
Guess what that means? If you “rolled your balls off” over the weekend, your lack of norepinephrine reuptake is going to take you down the road of inattentiveness, laziness (lack of energy), depressing feelings and fogginess.
In short: after a weekend flying high, MDMA:
- Depletes your brain of serotonin = induces anxiety
- Hinders reuptake of norepinephrine = lack of concentration & energy
- Hinders reuptake of dopamine = lack of happiness
Psychedelics (LSD, Mushrooms) and Sunday Scaries
This is the interesting pairing… because psychedelics are probably your best bet for a weekend indulgence without the almost-guaranteed Sunday pain. No, this is not & never will be a recommendation. But nice try.
Of all the drugs mentioned previously, psychedelics are the only class of drugs actually used in medical therapies to reduce anxiety, stress and depression. Also, unlike alcohol, cocaine and MDMA, LSD is not considered a physically addictive drug. The definition of a physical addition is that once you stop taking the drug, significantly unpleasant symptoms will occur: anxiety, jitters, nausea, depression and insomnia. More good news: overdosing on LSD is very rare according to The Addiction Center.
That being said, coming down off a “trippy trip” can have its own bout of complications. Even though psychedelics aren’t physically addicting, they can cause unpleasant and adverse experiences, which can haunt you all the way to work, Monday morning.
In short: after a weekend tripping, psychedelics:
- May cause continued hallucinations & confusion
- May cause continued dizziness & nausea
- May cause extended sleeplessness
Personality Causes of Sunday Scaries
We’ve carefully selected 7 distinct personality types and the specific Sunday Scaries symptoms associated with them. Each specific blend of Sunday Scaries is dependent on the lifestyle, what one did over the weekend, what type of schedule one has, and what one’s responsibilities are.
For example: A 30 year old, bar-hopping, young professional will certainly have a different definition for Sunday Scaries than a supermom who cares for three children all weekend.
As we mentioned, we’ve identified 7 major types of Sunday Scaries based on the following personality archetypes. Which one are you?!
- The Weekend Warrior
- The Yogi
- The College Student
- The Adventurer
- The Professional
- The Entrepreneur
- The Super Parent
The Weekend Warrior's Sunday Scaries
For a Weekend Warrior, the feelings of Sunday Scaries resemble both physical and moral hangovers. Your Sunday Scaries are feelings of panic that creep in when you’re coming down off a fun weekend, during which you spent way too much money & made questionable decisions.
Still feeling nauseous Sunday night? Are you scrolling back through pictures from Friday & Saturday hoping you didn’t do anything regrettable? Yep, you’re a Weekend Warrior, which is why your Sunday Scaries are fueled by the anxiousness that your brain fog won’t clear by Monday morning.
Even though you’re a Weekend Warrior, you take pride in your work. Your mental arena is important to you, so underperforming isn’t an option. The impasse between “Work Hard” and “Play Hard” is deep and challenging. However, the very nature of your Warrior mentality will always help you overcome your special recipe of Sunday Scaries.
If you’re a Weekend Warrior, it’s okay to go off the rails every once in a while because you’ll always get back on track.
Sunday Sentence: Annie had a bachelorette weekend and partied her face off, but now she has the Sunday Scaries because she’s hungover, lost a credit card & has no idea how to handle the week ahead of her.
The Yogi's Sunday Scaries
For the Yogi, the feelings of Sunday Scaries are derived from the transition from leniency & flexibility to a regimented workweek. If you’re a Yogi, your Sunday Scaries reflect feelings of anxiousness caused by juxtaposition between your weekend & weekday lifestyles.
Tired of back-to-back Zoom meetings? Do you find yourself wanting to rebel from an authoritative work schedule? Yep, you’re a Yogi, which is why your Sunday Scaries are fueled by your natural resistance to the 9-5 conformity.
However, even though you’re a Yogi, you excel in your weekday responsibilities. While the regiment of weekday work is opposite to your flexible aspirations, you still appreciate your ability to remain calm and centered in stressful situations.
If you’re a Yogi, Monday resembles the return from freedom to calendar invites. However, your Sunday Scaries will be cured quickly due to your ability to remain calm and excel at whatever challenges come your way.
Sunday Sentence: Meredith had a relaxing weekend at the beach with friends; she finished her personal growth book, led two yoga sessions, but now she has the Sunday Scaries because tomorrow she has to return to her strict and intense schedule as a medical professional.
The College Student's Sunday Scaries
The Sunday Scaries are arguably the worst for a college student compared to any other personality archetype… Unlike young professionals and Weekend Warriors, homework is never off the clock. While your higher metabolism and lower threshold for hangover pain might be beneficial, the draw of college-life is certainly a disadvantage.
FOMO + YOLO + X = Sunday Scaries is the epitomized equation of college life, and procrastination is the “X” Factor. As Wayne Gretzky’s cousin would’ve said “You miss 100% of the parties you don’t attend.” Let’s be honest, after a full weekend of beer pong, late night burritos, drunk texts and a few questionable decisions, Monday mornings are traditionally left for recovery and last minute homework. Aka: Stressful AF.
Still wondering who’s sweatshirt you’re wearing? Curious to why 30 pages of your history book are stuck together? Missing a shoe? Yep, you’re a college student, and your Sunday Scaries feel like an inundation of regret and “what am I doing with my life?”
But worry not, because while your Sunday Scaries symptoms might be the worst, your recovery is the fastest. Those flashes of regret and confusion during your Sunday night blues will soon turn to valuable sessions of experience… post grad that is.
Sunday Sentence: Frank won beer pong, jello wrestling and finally got his crush’s number, but now he’s riding the porcelain express as his Sunday Scaries kick-in because he’s got a huge Economics paper due tomorrow night that he has yet to start.
The Adventurer's Sunday Scaries
If you’re The Adventurer, your feelings of Sunday Scaries comes directly from the anxiety of confinement. You spent the weekend hiking, traveling and focused on trying new things outside your normality. Even though you’ll wake up fresh Monday morning, Sunday night will be spent dreading your office chair and boxed-in set of responsibilities.
Discover a new waterfall last weekend? Find a new, speakeasy restaurant? Go canoeing across the lake? Your Sunday Scaries are tied directly to trading your outdoor Patagonia to indoor button-ups & sweaters. Your Sunday anxiety is fueled by the change in horizon. It’s no longer a sunset behind snow-capped mountains, but a faint orange light through your office window.
The Sunday Scaries are the dreaded feelings of demise for your freedom. You spent the weekend traveling, experiencing new things, but Monday is on the horizon, and so is your boxy office and stack of To-Dos.
But fret not, for it’s important to understand part of your appreciation for adventure is reflectant of the hard work you put in during the week. While your Sunday Scaries reflect the notion of captivity in the workplace, remind yourself that captivity is a springboard to complete adventuring freedom in the future.
Sunday Sentence: Kevin hiked a mountain and canoed with hippos this weekend, but the thought of returning to his 6x6 cubicle & office chair tomorrow is giving him a well deserved plate of the Sunday Scaries.
The Professional's Sunday Scaries
For The Professional, your Sunday Scaries are feelings of uncertainty on Sunday evenings about whether you’re truly passionate about your job. As you lay on your couch, the Sunday Scaries make you wonder what type of job would actually make you excited for Mondays.
Does it seem like all your friends love what they’re doing? Are you aimlessly scrolling job postings and LinkedIn feeds instead of Instagram? Thinking of possibly eating those leftovers from last Wednesday so you can stay home sick tomorrow? The Professional’s Sunday Scaries are fueled by the impasse between the drive to succeed and the current road to success.
If you’re The Professional, even your off-the-clock work during the weekend and Sunday preparation can’t stave off the Sunday Scaries…. Because your anxiety runs deeper than a few meetings and work projects. Your Sunday Scaries are rooted in the entirety of your position.
But rest assured, while you might be a late bloomer, your flower will be larger than the rest. Your drive and motivation are soft skills that can’t be taught, and soon enough you’ll find that role that makes you excited for Monday mornings once again.
Sunday Sentence: Natalie is a marketing project manager, but gets the Sunday Scaries every Sunday night because she doesn’t feel passionate about her career path, and knows that there’s something better fitted for her so she can actually enjoy Mondays.
The Entrepreneur's Sunday Scaries
If you’re The Entrepreneur, then your Sunday Scaries are the most cyclical of all… because they’re never ending and predictably unpredictable. The Entrepreneur’s Sunday Scaries are rooted in anticipatory anxiety because the upcoming week will always be an onslaught of frustrating surprises.
Will my website credit card processing go down? Will my supply chain partner meet his deadline? Will my shipments make it to the customers on-time? Is the city still doing construction in front of my store? For The Entrepreneur, the Sunday Scaries are fueled by indefinite nervousness for the week ahead. Even though everyday feels like a Monday, Monday just feels like a double Monday.
Unlike the other personality archetypes, if you’re The Entrepreneur, then you’re the boss. Most liabilities, fires and problems will eventually fall in your lap. While most of the weekend was spent catching up on last week’s problems, Sunday evening will be rich in worry for what’s lurking around the Monday corner.
But rest assured, The Entrepreneur’s Sunday Scaries are reflectant of freedom & passion. If you’re The Entrepreneur, then unlike most of the other archetypes, you’re already set on your own path. Relish in the fact that your Sunday Scaries are merely reflections of the courage & challenges you’ve set in motion.
Sunday Sentence: Leo finally got caught up with his business’s monthly accounting reports this weekend, but his Sunday Scaries have kicked in because he’s launching a new marketing campaign tomorrow.
The Super Parent's Sunday Scaries
For the Super Parent, the Sunday Scaries are rooted in the anxious transition between the unpredictable weekend and routined week. If you’re a Super Parent, you spent the weekend like a personal concierge for your children. You attended soccer & baseball games all over town, cleaned ice cream out of your cupholder and figured out how to remove Pop Tarts off your beautiful Swiss White walls.
Where did your weekend go? Did the kids finish all their homework? Are they prepared for their week? Am I? For the Super Parent, Sunday Scaries are fueled by “survival parenting” which is the notion of “just making it through the weekend while maintaining parental awesomeness.” Unlike most of the other personality archetypes, The Super Parent’s Sunday Scaries are also sprinkled with exhaustion; a common symptom of handling all your responsibilities like a champ.
Rest assured, there’s nothing more rewarding than getting the Sunday Scaries as a Super Parent. It’s the right of passage between a busy weekend and structured week. Plus, at the end of a long Sunday, a bottle of rich red cabernet has never tasted so good.
Sunday Sentence: The kids have been bathed, Sunday night cookies are in the oven, there’s a fresh week ahead and Chrissy’s Sunday Scaries are finally starting to subside.
10 Remedies for Sunday Scaries
Fortunately, there are 10 reliable & realistic ways to remedy your Sunday Scaries after a fun weekend. Don’t worry, we’re not going to tell you to “get solid sleep on Friday and Saturday” or “detox all weekend” or “exercise for 3 hours each day” because, let’s be honest…. It ain’t going to happen. The following 10 remedies are ideal for enjoying your Sunday night & Monday morning:
- Don’t drink alcohol after 3pm
- Time Block yourself & be selfish
- Schedule something fun mid-week
- Focus on your One Thing
- Break a sweat or go outside
- Take 15 minutes for meditation & self-reflection
- Call A family member or friend
- Rewatch A favorite show or movie
- Take some broad spectrum CBD
- Enjoy a digital detox 30 minutes prior to sleep
1. Don't Drink Alcohol After 3pm
It’s very important to note that we’d never discourage a Sunday Brunch or Sunday Funday. Both are icons in American culture, and some of the funnest weekly experiences. However, after downing bottomless mimosas, chugging beers at a tailgate or sipping White Claws at the pool, it’s best to stop alcohol consumption by 3pm on Sundays. And yes, we do mean in the same time zone as yourself. It can’t be “3pm on the West Coast.”
As mentioned before, alcohol inhibits your brain’s ability to regulate GABA, serotonin and glutamate reuptake. A depletion of GABA (gamma-Aminobutyric acid) impedes your brain’s ability to handle stress. The reduction of serotonin induces anxiety and lack of glutamate causes restlessness. So unless you’d like to be rolling around in bed, unable to go to sleep while you feel anxious about Monday morning, it’s best to cut the booze by 3pm.
2. Time Block Yourself & Be Selfish
It’s called “Time Blocking” and it’s your best friend. Time Blocking is a time management tool that helps you stay proactive & productive for whatever you want to do. Time Blocking is a solution for the systemic problem in today’s society that demands continuous reactivity.
“Reactivity” refers to the continuous baratement of other people’s tasks. Too often people are stuck in reactivity-mode, and only focused on pleasing others.
What happens when you open your inbox? Doesn’t it seem like you’re being told to do something or fix everyone else’s problems? What happens when you check your phone? Are you being asked to do something for someone else?
Time Blocking is your hour of the day of complete selfishness. One of the best ways to eradicate Sunday Scaries is to put the phone on “Do Not Disturb”, the computer in sleep mode and do whatever the hell you want. Want to clean the rug? Want to re-organize your bedroom? Want to take a nap? Want to learn how to Rubix cube? It doesn’t matter. Just do it. It doesn’t matter what ANYONE else wants you to do. Enjoy your Block.
3. Schedule Something Fun Mid-Week
The next step to remedying your Sunday Scaries is scheduling something fun later in the upcoming week, like Wednesday or Thursday. Set yourself up for success. Don’t go into a workweek with “nothing fun to look forward to.”
Instead, take some time on Sunday to make a dinner reservation at a restaurant you’ve always wanted to try. What about a drive-in movie theater? What about cooking lessons? What about getting together with your friends for Thursday night football or a show’s season premier?
By scheduling something in the near future, you’ll actually reduce your anxiety for Monday. A large part of Monday’s anticipatory anxiety is the feeling of helplessness and lack of control. By scheduling something fun later in the week, it’s redirect your focus from Monday to that event.
Anxiety therapist Alex MacLellan says “Prioritizing some much-needed recuperation and enjoyable time during the week makes a massive difference to anxiety levels.”
4. Focus In On Your 'One Thing'
Your “One Thing” is the single most important thing you need to accomplish tomorrow (Monday). It’s not the top 5 things or the top 3 things, it’s the One Thing. What you need to ask yourself is “What’s the One Thing I can do tomorrow, such that by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary?”
Think about it. Isolate it. And then plan to execute on it first thing Monday morning. It’s not other people’s emails, it’s not a shiny object, and it’s probably not reorganizing your Trello or Scrum board. What is your One Thing?
The “One Thing” is sometimes also referred to as “Eating The Frog.” It simply means that if your hardest and most important task of the day is eating a frog, eat it first thing in the morning. Don’t wait until the afternoon or evening. And if you have to eat two frogs, eat the bigger one first thing in the morning.
Finding your “One Thing” is super important for productivity because it places your most important task in front of your “filler” tasks on your to-do list. Most people love making to-do lists and chronologically crossing them off. However, to-do lists are innately flawed and inefficient. They’re created when items pop into your head, not importance or priority.
5. Break A Sweat Or Go Outside
There are two options here… basically depending on whether you boozed it up on Sunday. Obviously, if you’d Sunday Funday’d, exercise is probably off the table, which is why we added “Go Outside.”
Exercising can help calm your Sunday Scaries in numerous ways. Clearing your mind and moving your body, like hitting a punching bag, will help with stress relief. Exercise will also divert your attention toward your physical movements, which can provide a valuable distraction from anxious thoughts. Also, when you exercise, feel-good hormones called endorphins are released, which can naturally improve your mood.
Option 2 is simply going outside and being in nature. According to Heart.org, going out into nature can have amazing benefits to your wellbeing, especially during the impending doom of Monday. Research has shown that a 90-minute nature walk can help reduce depressed thoughts, lower activity in the brain that’s linked to negative rumination, help inspiration to get your creative juices flowing and reduce anxiety.
6. Take 15 Minutes for Meditation & Self Reflection
Meditation will help you restore your inner peace, feel calmer and more grounded. It’s also free and you can do it almost anywhere. All you’ll need is a quiet space, a comfortable position and an open attitude. YouTube has hundreds of guided meditation seminars, or for a beginner’s app, we recommend Headspace. Headspace actually has a short YouTube video about Sunday Scaries here!
According to The Mayo Clinic, one of America’s leading medical centers, meditation and self-reflection can help you reduce anxiety, stress, sleep problems and tension headaches. In addition, meditation is great for reducing negative emotions and increasing self-awareness.
7. Call A Family Member or Friend
Odds are you spent the weekend scrolling through some type of social media feed. It’s never been easier to see glimpses of other people’s filtered lives through Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, SnapChat and Facebook. Anxiety derived from jealousy and self-consciousness from social media is a rapidly growing problem. Doesn’t it seem like everyone else is always traveling and living their best life while you’re sitting on the couch? Well, it may seem that way, but that’s not a good representation of the true world.
To reground yourself in humbleness and self-acceptance, call a loved one, whether a family member or friend. Ask them about their weekend and what they’ve been up to. Instead of investing time watching other people’s lives, get a glimpse into the lives of those you actually care about. Foster and supplement your existing relationships, and you’ll feel an overwhelming sense of calm and appreciation that will help reduce your Sunday Scaries.
8. Rewatch A Favorite Show or Movie
Just like exercise distracts your mind and body, watching a favorite movie will distract and actually calm down your anxious mind from the doom of Monday. According to Dr. Maria Baratta, a licensed clinical social worker, “to watch stuff that you know the ending to, especially if it’s a decent ending, is important.”
Even beyond the anticipatory anxiety for Monday, the COVID pandemic has infected society with unpredictability. Watching a favorite show, which you know the ending to, can have a substantial nostalgic and calming effect on your body. There’s very little anxiety in watching Home Alone again because you know how it’s going to end. Plus it’s an amazing movie, during Christmas that will most likely make you feel all warm and cozy on the inside.
9. Take Some Broad Spectrum CBD
There’s a reason we named our company “Sunday Scaries.” Our mission is to ensure people know they’re not alone in their daily struggles against stress and the beast that is “Monday Morning”. That’s why we enriched our flagship CBD gummies and oil with broad spectrum CBD and vitamins D3 & B12.
Broad spectrum CBD won’t get you high, but can help calm your racing mind, reduce excessive worrying and simply make life a little less scary. Broad spectrum CBD is great for just taking the edge off, especially since the effects can be felt in as little as 20 minutes. Additionally, Vitamins D3 and B12 are great for boosting your mood and warding off negative thoughts.
Curious to try Sunday Scaries award-winning CBD gummies enriched with Vitamins? There’s no risk with our 100% money back guarantee. Just click here for our main Sunday Scaries site and use code “Sunday20” at checkout for 20% off all products.
10. Enjoy a Digital Detox 30 Minutes Prior To Sleep
Obviously scrolling aimlessly through Instagram, TikTok, FB or emails isn’t good practice before falling asleep. There’s always going to be something that irks you, spikes your anxiety and sends you down a rabbithole of worried or negative thoughts. Ever read an email before falling asleep that sets you off? Yeah… not a shocker. However, believe it or not, that’s not the primary reason for a digital detox before bed.
The reason you should digitally detox before bed is because the blue light from your phone, ipad or computer can negatively affect your sleep patterns. According to Harvard, blue light significantly suppresses your brain & body’s melatonin production, which can negatively affect your circadian rhythm. Your circadian rhythm is your 24-hour internal clock, the most significant of which is your sleep-wake cycle. This 24-hour cycle is imperative for repairing and refreshing your body’s major functions and processes.
Additionally, the blend of blue light and social stimuli (what you’re seeing on your device) can stimulate your body’s production of dopamine and serotonin. Do you think you’re going to feel well rested and get quality sleep when your body is actively producing the two neurotransmitters that affect mood, sleep, appetite, anxiety and happiness. No.
Instead of scrolling through digital feeds before falling asleep, we recommend meditating, reading or getting intimate (bow chicka wow wow) instead.