Why does Thursday "feel like" Thursday?

November 13, 2008 2:14 PM

Can anyone point me to a study or thesis about the phenomenon of why days of the week "feel different" from one another, and do so on a consistent basis? My guess is it's mental state coupled with the body's natural chemistry, but I can't articulate it better than that when trying to discuss.
posted by judomadonna to Society & Culture (14 answers total)

Before you can answer the question "Why do they feel different?" you have to answer "Do they feel different?"

Not for me.
posted by Class Goat at 2:23 PM on November 13, 2008

They do? Really? Not for me. Almost sounds like synesthesia. Do you have other synesthestic perceptions?
posted by orthogonality at 2:34 PM on November 13, 2008

They only feel different for me based on how many times I've had a deep sleep period since whatever regularly-weekly event. However, if I take a series of deep-sleep naps over a span of two days, Thursday will feel like Sunday.
posted by Quarter Pincher at 2:43 PM on November 13, 2008

There can be anticipation of the weekend (freedom) or dread of going back to work. Each of these can begin well in advance which would give Wednesday something of a middle-ground feel. My wife used to start complaining about the short weekend almost as soon as she got home on Friday.

Back in the olden days when office memos went around the office in a folder with a routing slip on the outside, I sent around a fake memo warning against weeks with multiple Wednesdays and substituting Mondays with Thursdays. Or something like that -- it was a long time ago. Not everybody realized it was a joke.
posted by trinity8-director at 3:14 PM on November 13, 2008

I suspect the phenomenon would be very different, or non-existent for someone with a non-standard work schedule. As such, I happen to have tomorrow off, so today "feels like" Friday only because it's the last day of work this week. When my husband goes to work in the morning, it will "feel like" Friday and not Saturday because I'll be reminded that he works Monday-Friday.
posted by desjardins at 3:49 PM on November 13, 2008

I think it has a lot to do with the work week and looking forward to the weekend. I've noticed the opposite phenomenon where on a long enough vacation I'm liable to forget what day of the week it is.

That said, you'll probably get a kick out of this cartoon.
posted by O9scar at 4:46 PM on November 13, 2008 [1 favorite]

I have synesthesia and this is a question I've thought about a lot recently. I have even started writing a short story in my head about seven people who each are essentially a personified day -- you know like wise, matronly Monday; or confident, optimistic Saturday who has a crush on bohemian, sensual Thursday.
My assumption was that synesthetes and non-synesthetes alike could agree about the days of the week and how they feel, but according to the responses above I guess they don't.
posted by RingerChopChop at 6:54 PM on November 13, 2008

I dunno if it feels any different physically, but emotionally, maybe. Like if one is frequently thinking "one more day till the weekend" on Thursday, or if something like a favorite TV show is on a certain night. But I'm not sure if 2 pm on a Tuesday feels any different than 2 pm on a Wednesday. And while Monday sucks anyway, for of us it's worse because we stay up and get up late on the weekends, and find it hard to adjust in time for Monday morning.

But for what it's worth, I used to work a schedule where I had Monday and Friday off, day shift on weekends, and night shift Tues to Thur. Even after a few years, there'd be times where Friday felt like a Sunday because I knew I had to work the next morning. It felt like it so much that as a result, I'd occasionally forget to set my DVR for Letterman. Was that ever frustrating.
posted by TheSecretDecoderRing at 7:50 PM on November 13, 2008

Somewhat of a derail, but RingerChopChop, you should check out Neil Gaiman's short story October's Chair. Same idea but the characters are personifications of the months of the year.
posted by JaredSeth at 8:26 PM on November 13, 2008

This may be of interest to you

Does each day of the week have its own colour? This question has long intrigued the designer Johanna Balušíková, culminating in the Colour Of The Day project: an investigation into colour associations and their relationships to specific days of the week. A survey was conducted where the following question was posed to 75 creative field workers from 20 different countries: what colour do you associate with each day of the week? The result is a series of t-shirts, one for each day of the week, the colour of each having been selected by majority vote. The shirts could either be worn according to the calendar days, or more intuitively, according to the actual mood of the wearer.

This project was commissioned and produced for the Biennale Design 2004 in Saint-Etienne, France.

You can still buy the t-shirts here.
posted by boudicca at 4:37 AM on November 14, 2008

Ask Fats Domino:

Blue Monday, I hate Blue Monday
Got to work like a slave all day
Here come Tuesday, oh hard Tuesday
I'm so tired got no time to play
Here come Wednesday, I'm beat to my socks
My gal calls, got to tell her that I'm out
'Cause Thursday is a hard workin' day
And Friday I get my pay
Saturday mornin', oh Saturday mornin'
All my tiredness has gone away
Got my money and my honey
And I'm out on the stand to play
Sunday mornin' I'm feelin' bad
But it's worth it for the time that I had
But I've got to get my rest
'Cause Monday is a mess
posted by fourcheesemac at 5:06 AM on November 14, 2008

Best answer: I get this feeling, but slightly different: there are days for me that evoke a strong feeling of being a different day (ie, a Tuesday feeling like a Wednesday, a Friday feeling like a Saturday, etc). I don't have synesthesia. Changes to my sleep pattern do have an effect at times, but not always. I would presume it's more likely something to do with the differentiation between what happened the day before and what's expected the day after; or a change to routine, however slight, that throws the cognitive weekly 'pattern' out of whack somehow.
posted by macdara at 5:32 AM on November 14, 2008

It hasn't anything to do with 'what day' it is -- it's another day.

Days in autumn are almost certainly different than days in spring, winter different than summer -- we are after all mammals and not all that far from the days when people, like other mammals, went to bed and also rose with the sun.

It's a societal construct is what it is. We agree to live by calendars which break series of days into 'weeks' and then are laid out into roles and schedules dependant upon where in that week we 'are.'

That said, I do not have a set schedule, my time is my own. I'm very lucky, and that is a fact. Even though my time is my own and each day is like the next, I do live within society and due to that I ride many of the waves that the rest of the people within my sphere ride upon. Today is Friday, and it damn sure 'feels' different from Monday or Sunday or Wednesday -- those who are working are getting their free time doled to them and there surely is a sense of freedom and maybe almost joy floating around and yeah, I surf it too.

That is not what you asked for; I've not done any study nor do I have any links to any studies, it is however my experience. If someone wants to do a study, let me know; I'll participate, though only if I do not have to get up too early, unless I want to do so...

Have a nice Friday, gang!

Peace.
posted by dancestoblue at 9:09 AM on November 14, 2008

My workweek is Wednesday through Sunday, so Sunday feels like Friday used to and Monday and Tuesday are my weekend. Each day having its own particular feeling is dependent on your weekly schedule and what you do regularly. Go to the grocery store in the morning every Tuesday for a while, then go on Saturday, or Friday. I'd bet you'll think it feels like Tuesday.
posted by Baethan at 6:48 PM on November 14, 2008