It may not seem believable, but with a few very simple and practical methods, we can turn Mondays into one of the good and enjoyable days of the week.
If you hate Mondays, rest assured that you are not alone. For many of us, it’s hard to go back to work after a few days of rest and relaxation. This feeling may make you spend your entire weekend with fear and anxiety. You can’t always adjust your plans to make Monday a more exciting day for you, but you can reprogram your brain to have a different perspective on the upcoming week.
Our brains love predictability and routine; research has also shown that not having current habits or routines is associated with decreased health and mental distress. Although weekends provide pleasant leisure time for us, our brains try to adapt to this sudden change in our normal routine. The good news is that the brain doesn’t need much effort to adapt to the freedom of the weekend and the lack of routine, but when it’s time to return to less pleasant activities like Monday morning work, the story will be slightly different.
One of the ways to adapt the brain to post-weekend changes is to identify routines that you will do during the week and that have the power to give meaning to your life; such as watching your favorite TV show, gardening, or going to the gym. Doing these things on a daily basis and at a specific time will be very useful for you.
Habits can improve our sense of coherence and provide us with the opportunity to better understand the meaning of life events. When we have a consistent routine in our life, whether it be a five-day work and two-day weekend schedule or a seven-day workweek, our lives will become more meaningful. Another important habit to establish in our lives is a sleep routine. Research shows that having a set sleep time, in addition to the amount and quality of sleep, is important for enjoying weekends.
Changing sleep patterns on weekends can cause social jetlag. Social jetlag, or the insomnia caused by long-distance air travel, also means that staying up late on weekends or oversleeping during these days may create a conflict between your body clock and social responsibilities. This event has a direct relationship with high levels of stress on Monday mornings.
In light of this, try to set a specific time for your sleep and wakefulness and avoid procrastination. You can even use stress-relieving techniques to calm yourself and end your day by turning off the lights and digital devices 30 minutes before bedtime.
Hormonal Hacking
Hormones can also have an impact on how we feel about Sundays. One of these multifunctional and very important hormones is cortisol, which helps our body control metabolism, sleep-wake cycles, and respond to stress. This hormone is usually secreted one hour before waking up from sleep and helps us feel awake; then, if we are not under stress, its level decreases until the next morning.
According to The Conversation, our body, under acute stress, secretes a significant amount of adrenaline in addition to cortisol to fight or flee. In such situations, our heart beats very fast, our palms sweat, and we may show impulsive reactions. In these conditions, our brain’s control is in the amygdala, which is located in the almond-shaped part of the brain, and before the brain can process the situation and decide whether it needs stress or not, an extremely rapid emotional response is created by the amygdala.
When we are in such situations, as soon as we can think correctly by activating the prefrontal cortex of the brain, which is responsible for executive thinking, the emotional and intense response of the amygdala decreases; of course, if there is no real threat. This is a constant battle between emotions and reason that can even wake us up in the middle of the night when we are anxious.
Based on these facts, it is not surprising that according to measurements taken, the level of cortisol in the saliva of people who work full-time was at its highest on Mondays and Mondays and at its lowest on Fridays. Cortisol, as a stress hormone, fluctuates daily, but these fluctuations are not constant.
During the week, cortisol levels increase immediately upon waking up from sleep, and its changes are greater towards the end of the week. To cope with this, we need to train our brains to identify real threats and deceive the amygdala. In other words, we need to activate the prefrontal cortex of the brain as quickly as possible.
One of the best ways to achieve this goal and reduce stress is to do relaxation exercises, especially on Mondays. This will reduce cortisol and increase your focus. Spending time in nature is also another thing you can do to feel good on Mondays. Spending time outside the work environment, or even having lunch in an open space, can make a significant difference in your perception of the start of the week.
The amount of cortisol secreted naturally decreases about an hour after waking up, so it’s best not to go on social media or read the news before this time and by doing so, keep yourself away from stress.
By following these simple tips, you can train your brain to believe that weekdays (especially Mondays) can be almost as good as weekends.
