Beat the Sunday night blues with these transformative tips

Knots in your stomach, glancing at the clock and panicking at the thought of your inbox the next day—sound familiar? You might be one of the 78% of UK women who say they experience the Sunday night blues, which we’re guessing is playing on everyones’ minds today, particularly after the festive break and as we head into another week of juggling working from home with childcare and home-schooling.

At some point in our careers, we will all have known the feeling of the Sunday evening dread, or dimanchophobia, to give it its proper name. 

Suddenly, the remainder of the relaxing weekend turns into hours of all-encompassing dread and worry, as we stress about the week ahead, the workload yet to be completed and those colleagues we just can’t handle… it’s so exhausting, by Monday morning it can feel as if the weekend had never happened at all. 

With working from home, many of us feeling the pressures of modern life more acutely than ever before, so it’s no wonder that stress and anxiety are on the rise. You might be working in your dream job, or bossing the juggle on a daily basis—but even if you love your role, there’s no getting away from the fact that on the whole, our jobs are busier, hours are longer, and most of us are now almost always on-call, thanks to technology infiltrating our homes and personal lives. When the weekend comes, we all just want to be able to fully switch off and enjoy our precious time off-grid with our friends and loved ones. 

But 78% of respondents to a recent survey said that they experience Sunday night blues on a regular basis, meaning that the majority of us just haven’t been able to shift our mindset away from our worries, in order to be able to enjoy our time off fully.

Reducing the impact of the Sunday night blues doesn’t need to be as dramatic as quitting your job (although that’s certainly an option, if you feel it’s really dragging you down). Making some small and simple changes to your Sunday evening routine can be all it takes to transform your mindset and help you hang on to every minute of the weekend without watching the clock.

Leave your work at work

Making the most of your weekend is a great way to ensure that you feel rested and raring to go come Monday, so resist the temptation to allow your work to take over your time off, particularly if you find yourself working from home. Boundaries are key. Avoid the urge to check your emails or ‘catch up’ on work over the weekend—it likely won’t be productive, and it will eat into the time that you need to reset.

If you really need to keep on top of the workload, then make time for it on Friday evening, before the weekend has properly begun.

Make fun plans for Sunday

Don’t save all your best plans for Friday and Saturday, so that Sunday leaves you with no option except to lounge with a boxset and worry about work. Make the most of your full weekend and keep yourself too busy to fret; a Zoom call with friends, a leisurely stroll, or a fancy homemade dinner in the evening, will keep your mind occupied and happy.

Don’t skip on exercise

As we all know, exercise releases endorphins – and if you’re prone to feeling a bit bleak on a Sunday, then endorphins are exactly what you need. Book in for a Sunday evening virtual fitness class, or try a Sunday night yoga class to leave you feeling rested and relaxed, and too zen to stress. Try it - we promise you’ll feel better!

Build a Sunday night ritual

Those last few hours of your weekend is when your anxiety is most likely to strike, so if all you have to look forward to on Sunday night is a 9pm drama, a glass of red and a sad slide into Monday, then you need to change things up.

Give yourself the gift of a routine to enjoy; an hour with a great book, a sheet mask, a scented candle and a cup of tea, cosied up in fresh bedsheets, can do wonders for your serotonin levels, so mark that time aside and treat yourself to it every week.

Make a change that makes a difference

If Sunday night fills you with dread no matter what you do, then it’s time to make a meaningful change.

Set aside Sunday night to work on making a difference; whether that’s taking a class to improve your skillset (making your work life easier to handle), working on your own personal passion project, planning out your week ahead to break it down into manageable chunks, or even updating your CV and looking for a role that will help you feel more fulfilled – something that will improve your outlook and help you feel more confident, positive and in control can only be a good thing.