Beat the Sunday Blues (And 3 Other Energy-Boosting Tricks)
If you're on your fourth coffee or energy drink, please put it down now. You don't need all that caffeine just to get a jolt of get-up-and-go. Instead, next time you're feeling super sluggish,try one of these all-natural ways to refuel.
By Sunny Sea Gold
Running on Empty:
You've got the Sunday blues, and you can't escape the force field that is your couch.
Power Up:
The cruddy thoughts you're having about Monday? Feel free to keep thinking them, but speed them up—way up. A study by psychologists at Princeton and Harvard found that asking people to read statements two times faster than they normally would left them feeling happier and livelier. Speeding up the inner talk even helped when people had to read depressing statements like "I can't go on" or "I want to go to sleep and never wake up!" Lead study author Emily Pronin, PhD, has a theory about why: "Fast thinking means lots of novel stimuli in your brain," she says, and that novelty increases dopamine, a chemical that makes us feel good. If it's hard to set your mind racing on its own, pull up a random article on your phone and read it to yourself at double speed. Remember, quickness counts as much as content.
You've got the Sunday blues, and you can't escape the force field that is your couch.
Power Up:
The cruddy thoughts you're having about Monday? Feel free to keep thinking them, but speed them up—way up. A study by psychologists at Princeton and Harvard found that asking people to read statements two times faster than they normally would left them feeling happier and livelier. Speeding up the inner talk even helped when people had to read depressing statements like "I can't go on" or "I want to go to sleep and never wake up!" Lead study author Emily Pronin, PhD, has a theory about why: "Fast thinking means lots of novel stimuli in your brain," she says, and that novelty increases dopamine, a chemical that makes us feel good. If it's hard to set your mind racing on its own, pull up a random article on your phone and read it to yourself at double speed. Remember, quickness counts as much as content.
From the May 2016 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine