Do you suffer from the Monday blues? That knot in the stomach on a Sunday evening & the restless sleep with constant waking up during the night …. Not every Sunday perhaps, but have you thought about the triggers & causes and looked into ways you can ease yourself into a Monday morning without the anxiety and stress it quite often brings.

There are many trigger factors such as:

• Having had a pretty inactive weekend, perhaps off colour and have spent a lot of the time sitting around like a coach potato
• Coming down off too much unhealthy food and/or booze. It totally messes with your gut health, blood sugar levels and hormones leaving you feeling bloated, fed up and even anxious.
• Your intuition both mentally and physically knows what’s coming. The worry of what you have to do the following week, the groundhog day doing a job perhaps you find too stressful, the toxic people about to enter your week. Or……. perhaps just the endless list of what needs doing can tip you into the anxious state

If we don’t prepare ourselves for the week ahead both physically and mentally then stress can manifest and take hold. Familiar ?

So…. Sunday preparation in various ways can be a big help to a smoother run into your week.

Let’s address some of these reasons:

Staying active and factoring in movement at the weekend is key. It doesn’t have to be hard core HIIT or running bla bla bla. It can be a low key stretch class, an online workout or just a gentle but long walk outside in the fresh air.

Hydration on a Sunday (2-3 litres) and pump the body full of veg & healthy nutrition. 1-2 glasses of red with dinner if you must but not the bottle. Very important is to not eat too late. Eating late in the evening means your gut and liver will be working hard throughout the night to digest the food. This causes broken sleep and will leave you feeling exhausted come Monday morning.  Not to mention the havoc played with your insulin levels (sugars)…..

Ensure you have your food and clothes sorted the night before for a Monday. I know it sounds obvious but the more we have to think about on a Monday morning the more stress and anxiety runs into the equation.

Bed early and practice some form of relaxation at the end of the day. Whether its meditation or simply a few minutes breathing techniques. Allow yourself to wind down naturally and without the blue light from your phone. But before that task is in hand, ensure you’ve made a list of what needs doing the following day.  Brain dumping before bed is extremely cleansing and will leave you feeling ready for sleep.

Pushing everything to the back of your mind might work for the day but come Monday morning that’s a hell of a lot of tackle.

What do you do to wind down on a Sunday & prepare for the week ahead ?