Why the post-holiday slump hits so hard and how to beat it

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Transcript

00:00If you usually spend the days between the holidays and New Year's wandering around, unsure what day it is,

00:05psychologists say there's a real reason, and it's called temporal liminality.

00:09It's what happens when the routines that normally structure your life disappear,

00:12and during the holidays, they absolutely do.

00:15Your brain relies on predictable cues to track time.

00:18Wake-up alarms, commutes, meetings, even the order you make breakfast.

00:21When those cues vanish, the brain loses its internal markers.

00:24That's why the week between the 25th and the 31st feels stretched, blurry, or like one long, vaguely festive fever dream.

00:31Holiday downtime also disrupts identity cues.

00:34According to national polling, 46% of Americans say they don't get the alone time they need during the holidays,

00:40and 56% say that that alone time is critical for their mental health.

00:43When you're suddenly surrounded by family, slipping back into old roles, or sleeping in your childhood bedroom,

00:49your brain is juggling a completely different version of you.

00:51Travel adds to the effect by stripping away familiar surroundings that your brain uses to stay oriented.

00:57Now, the important part, and why we're reporting on it, is that this fog is predictable and temporary.

01:02Once the routines, the consistent alarms, regular meals, and the familiar rhythm of daily life return,

01:08it'll help your brain snap back into place.

01:10That's the nature of liminality.

01:12It's a threshold, not a destination.

01:14So if you feel like you're drifting through this week in a fog, you're not alone.

01:17But we want to know, have you been subject to this fog?

01:20Do you like getting out of your routine, or does it throw you off?

01:22Let us know in the comments, and follow us here for more.