It’s ok, everyone has a bad day from time to time. Maybe you were late for work or school and everything just went downhill from there. It feels like one small mishap can set off a chain reaction to ruin the rest of your day.

It’s even worse if you wake up on the wrong side of the bed and don’t even know why you feel down — you already know it’s going to be a tough one. Although many might think of this as just an expression, it’s a real phenomenon and scientists believe it has a detrimental effect on our well-being. 

A study was completed by Pennsylvania State University looking at how these feelings in the morning impact our performance for the rest of the day. Their results were published in a paper aptly titled Waking Up on the Wrong Side of the Bed: The Effects of Stress Anticipation on Working Memory in Daily Life. 

The two-week study involved 240 adults completing reports on their emotional well-being at different times throughout the day. These reports (known as ecological momentary assessments) aimed to capture how an individual was feeling in the moment, especially in regards to stress. The reports were to be completed at random times throughout the day. The only exceptions were the morning and end-of-day ones which also asked participants if they were anticipating being stressed ahead of time. 

After the participants logged their states, they were asked to complete a small ‘working memory’ test. An example of this could be trying to recount numbers that flashed on a screen briefly. The results from their study highlighted what anticipating stress in the morning does to people.

“Waking up on the wrong side of the bed” (or being ready to feel stressed) appeared to have a knock-on effect on participants’ working memory tests throughout the day. Although being stressed normally had an effect on their test performance, reporting negative feelings from the start of the day influenced their behaviors far more than anything else. So, science has confirmed that having a bad day isn’t completely the universe throwing you a curveball.

Staying motivated can be tricky, but there’s always a way to get through. According to Bo Muchoki, a motivational speaker, being optimistic is tantamount to getting through difficult times. He said, “You can’t control the painful situations that life puts in your path. All that you can control is your mental response to the painful situations that you find yourself in.”

“Your mental response to the tough situations that you find yourself in is huge,” he continued. “Whether you choose a negative mentality or a positive mindset to interpret your pain determines how well you fare in life.”

“The only difference between those who crumble into sadness, helplessness, depression, hopelessness, and defeat in tough times and those who rise above their pain is a positive mindset.”

Whether it’s meditation or motivational quotes, everyone has their own ways of changing their mindsets. Our loyal readers tell us that Bored Panda always helps to lift them up when having a bad day. Of course, we love to cover inspiring stories, but at the same time, reflecting on the difficult times helps us to stay focused on the better ones. Just remember, it could always be worse.