# How to overcome post-holiday syndrome > These days the media talk about this syndrome over and over again. And the fact is it affects 10% of adults who return to work... - **Author:** mireia-navarro-vera · **Category:** Adultos - **Published:** 2016-09-04 · **Updated:** 2019-09-08 - **URL:** https://elteuespai.com/en/how-to-overcome-post-holiday-syndrome/ - _Translation pending clinical review._ --- These days the media talk about this syndrome over and over again. And the fact is it affects 10% of adults who return to work after a holiday period. Going back to the routine is hard for us and we suffer symptoms such as anxiety and sadness, but above all what we feel is tiredness, apathy, lack of concentration and drowsiness. These four are the most prominent signs. Let's look at them closely: ## 1. Tiredness It seems that the holidays haven't done their job and we feel more tired than before they started. But it's a tiredness that, as I often say, is psychological and doesn't go away with rest. It responds more to an adaptation to the routine and to the new schedules. It only needs time to gradually fade away ## 2. Apathy We feel little desire to do things, a sense of indifference and a lack of energy. It's our response to the adaptation. ## 3. Lack of concentration ![lack of concentration due to post-holiday syndrome](/images/blog/2016/09/falta-concentracion.webp)That's why the first days at work are tough, we can't give 100% of ourselves no matter how hard we try. We struggle to concentrate and things slip past us. It's not advisable to demand too much of yourself during the first week ## 4. Drowsiness You have to adapt to the schedule. Getting up early always causes drowsiness. So little by little you'll have to get your body used to going to bed early so you can wake up without that feeling of sleepiness that will accompany you all day. ### What can we do to fight post-holiday syndrome? - **Return to the routine gradually.** If you can afford to work fewer hours during the first days, do it. - **Don't demand 100% from yourself **because you can't give it. If you set yourself more goals than you'll be able to take on, you'll wear yourself out and add more fuel to the fire. Be aware that you can't give it all when your concentration is failing. - **Keep some of the holidays alive during the first days,** like going out in the afternoon for a drink on a terrace or going out for dinner. Little treats that won't make you break drastically with the holiday rhythm. Find moments in your day-to-day in which you can do your favorite things, and you can keep this up throughout the year ;) - **Try to regulate your sleep rhythm. **You have to fight the tiredness. In summer our sleep patterns change, we go to bed later and don't get up early. Now we must recover the good habit so we can perform the next day. If you do it a few days before starting work, all the better. - **Exercise**. September is a good month to set yourself challenges. Some kind of sport should appear on that list. It will help you feel good and you'll release those endorphins that you so badly need to fight apathy. - **Plan a getaway for the weekend**. That way you'll recharge your batteries and have something to look forward to - **Focus on the good.** Be grateful for what you have. A good job, a family, your home, your friends, your free time…. Before going to sleep, be grateful for three things in your life, do it from the heart and each night be grateful for three different things. You'll feel fortunate for what you already have and it will focus your mind on the positive. - **And finally, remember that this syndrome will pass.** It usually lasts one or two weeks. Afterwards you'll be at 100% and, without realizing it, the holidays will come around again. Everything passes, both the good and the bad, everything passes and nothing lasts forever. Mireia Navarro explains more details about post-holiday syndrome