By Therapy Near Me | July 2025
Weekends are meant for rest—but some Sunday habits can backfire, triggering the dreaded Sunday Scaries. This article highlights common Sunday missteps that fuel anxiety and mood dips, along with expert-backed strategies to avoid them.
Keywords: Sunday Scaries, Sunday anxiety habits, bad weekend habits mental health, doomscrolling Sunday, procrastination anxiety, Sunday routine tips, avoid Sunday stress, Sunday self-care, Sunday reset routine, mental health weekend tips
1. Doomscrolling Evening News
Scrolling endlessly through negative headlines (“doomscrolling”) on Sunday evenings elevates cortisol, disrupts sleep, and worsens anxiety symptoms (The Daily Beast, 2025; Verywell Health, 2025), making your system feel like it’s permanently “on alert” (Verywell Health, 2025).
2. Overthinking & “What-If” Mental Loops
Replaying worries about the week ahead—like upcoming meetings or to-dos—creates anticipatory anxiety, reinforcing the Scaries pattern (State of Mind Therapy, 2025; Washington Post, 2025). These mental habits form automatically and become harder to suppress over time (Colvin et al., 2021).
3. Procrastinating Chores
Putting off planning or chores till Sunday night increases stress hormones and compounds anxiety. Doing everything last-minute reinforces negative weekend associations, rather than enabling a restful close to the weekend (IOL, 2025; BetterHelp, 2025).
4. Skipping Self-Care & Physical Movement
Avoiding light exercise or self-care rituals hampers mood and stress relief. Even a short walk—10 minutes—can significantly lower stress levels (Wikipedia, 2025).
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5. Excessive Screen Time
Late-night screen use—binge-watching or endless social scrolling—disrupts cortisol and melatonin rhythms, making sleep elusive and Anxiety more likely (Education Psychology sources). Disrupted sleep patterns on Sunday night create a vicious cycle of fatigue and dread (NIH sources).
6. Ignoring Routine
Ditching your usual week-night sleep schedule (“social jetlag”) until Sunday night makes Monday mornings feel worse (Times of India, 2025). Returning to routine abruptly adds stress, rather than letting you transition gently into the week.
What To Do Instead: Smart Sunday Replacements
- Schedule a Sunday evening reset: Plan lightly—laundry, meal prep, and mindfulness—without overwhelming yourself (Verywell Mind, 2024; Healthline, 2025).
- Limit negative media: Avoid news or doomscrolling after 8 pm, allowing cortisol to decline naturally.
- Add gentle movement: A slow Sunday walk or yoga can ease stress and improve sleep (Wikipedia: Psychological stress).
- Practice mind-reframing: Use CBT techniques (e.g., thought logs) to challenge “What if” spirals and re-anchor to the present (Psychology Today, 2021).
- Keep to sleep routines: Maintain your weekday bedtime and wake time across the whole weekend; set calming habits in the 90-minute lead-up to sleep (NY Post, 2025).
References
BetterHelp (2025) Sunday Depression: What Is Sunday Blues And Its Mental Health Impact? BetterHelp.com. Available at: .
Colvin, E., Gardner, B., Labelle, P.R. & Santor, D. (2021) ‘The automaticity of positive and negative thinking: A scoping review of mental habits’, Cognitive Therapy and Research.
IOL (2025) ‘The Sunday Scaries: why you’re dreading Monday and how to break the cycle’. IOL, 17 June.
NY Post (2025) ‘Experts reveal morning habits you should avoid if you sleep bad’. New York Post, 18 July.
State of Mind Therapy (2025) ‘6 Sunday Scaries habits you need to break (And what to do instead)’.
The Daily Beast (2025) ‘Why Doctors Say Doomscrolling Is “Terrible” For Your Skin’.
Verywell Health (2025) ‘7 Stress-Relief Techniques That May Be Backfiring’.
Wikipedia contributors (2025) ‘Sunday scaries’. Wikipedia, last updated March 2025.
Wikipedia contributors (2025) ‘Psychological stress’. Wikipedia, updated July 2025.
