That sinking feeling before the week starts again used to be known as Monday morning blues. Now it’s been pushed back to Sunday afternoon, with research showing that most Britons begin to feel a stomach clenching sense of trepidation about the week ahead at exactly 4.13pm.
A poll released by the hotel chain Premier Inn found that one in 10 people felt the fear as early as 10am on Sunday, with four out of ten saying the seventh day of the week is an anxious one.
The chain, which surveyed 2,000 Britons also found 44% of people believed their colleagues’ weekends were more exciting than their own.
It's official: we start worrying about the work week ahead at 4.13pm on a Sunday
They’re urging us to do more with our weekend to banish the blues, with Premier Inn spokesman Claire Haigh saying: "For many Brits Sundays are considered boring and many don't even bother leaving their house, but it is important people make the most of their weekends.
“The recent bank holidays have also been a great time for us all to enjoy a bit of extra time off work and visit family or even take a short break away, so it’s not surprising that our weekends now feel shorter.
“Getting the Sunday Blues is quite common so we would advise people to plan their weekends in advance so they can make the most of the Sunday and turn it into a day to look forward to.”
A survey by the mental health charity Mind in 2010 found one in four people suffered from the Sunday Blues.