Her Campus Logo Her Campus Logo
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at U Ottawa chapter.

The Sunday scaries can affect anyone at anytime. Unfortunately for students, the Sunday scaries come often and uninvited. Here are some tips for scaring the scaries so you can enjoy your Sundays in peace.

Whether you are hungover, anxious, or just generally overwhelmed, the Sunday scaries can ruin your week pretty quickly if you do not fight them. The term “Sunday scaries” has been popularized by young adults and students and refers to the anxiety felt after a night out. Particularly if you’re a student, the scaries can still seem to fight you even if you haven’t had a wild night out. Although this is normal, it is not a wished for experience and here is a step-by-step list to help you get through any horrific sundays in your future.

1. ENjoy your rot (TEMPORARILY)

Letting yourself relax is a major part of recovery however, at some point you need to draw a line. I know personally if I spend more than half of my day in bed I start to feel guilty. The key is to find the point in between lazy and relaxing, for me this is 4-5 hours of rotting after I have woken up.

2. Shower

Consider this shower your reset. It does not need to be extra, you don’t even need to wash your hair. Put some music on and (literally) give yourself a clean slate to start the rest of the day. You will feel better and it will likely wake you up if you’re still in the sleep mindset.

3. Do one “clean Girl” activity

The goal of fighting the sunday scaries is not to set unrealistic goals. In all likelihood, this is not going to be your most productive day and that is okay. Pick one productive activity that will benefit your productivity and mood. It does not have to be something big, it can be as simple as cleaning your room or journaling. Doing this will get your body up and moving and will also improve the guilt factor.

4. Spend time with a friend

At the end of the day, the sunday scaries happen to all of us, spend it with someone who gets it. This could mean debriefing with your roommate, calling a friend, or reconnecting with nature hot-girl walk style. Having someone with you will not only boost your morale, but it will also make sure you aren’t sleeping all day.

Thankfully, the Sunday scaries do not last forever. Now that you have made the most out of your day, you can go to be at a normal time knowing that tomorrow will be better. Best of luck, see you next Sunday!

Aleigha Shepard

U Ottawa '26

Aleigha (most often known as Lia) is a third year French and English major at UOttawa. She has goals to teach abroad once she has graduated with hopes to travel all of Europe through work. She is a passionate reader and finds herself most often writing creative non-fiction. Outside of Her Campus, Aleigha is constantly on the hunt for new music and bands and obsesses over updating her playlists daily. She loves fitness and all aspects of health and wellness, and just about any activity that can be done with friends. Although she is extremely social, she prefers to wind down alone with some tea and a good book or comfort show.