On Sunday evening, you’re sitting on the sofa, thinking about going to bed but dreading waking up to another Monday. But why is that and how can you change this frame of mind? Keep reading and let’s see if we can shed some light on it.
Is Sleep Making Your Monday Miserable?
A study done by John Hopkins set out to find the reason behind our cultural dread of Mondays. One of the things they found was it had to do with your weekend sleep pattern.
A study done on the sleep patterns at the weekend and circadian rhythm discovered that people who slept in late on Saturday and Sunday mornings experienced delayed onset on Sunday evening. They then felt daytime fatigue on the subsequent Monday as well as sleepiness.
This wasn’t just isolated to Monday but also Tuesday. The 2008 Sleep in America Poll by the National Sleep Foundation revealed that participants of the study reported going to bed an average of 30 minutes later than normal and waking about 1.5 hours later on Saturday and Sunday. These findings suggest the reason for Monday fatigue is not keeping your sleep cycle the same every day.
So how do we fix that?
Here are some ways to avoid disrupting your sleep pattern and reducing Monday fatigue and tiredness.
1. No matter what time you go to bed on Friday and Saturday night, wake up at the same time as a weekday.
2. If you need to set an alarm to wake up at the same time then do so.
3. When you wake up, get up. Don’t lie there too long otherwise you will fall asleep again and often feel worse when you do wake up.
4. Don’t over-indulge in sugary foods, caffeine or alcohol. These are all stimulants and can affect the quality of your sleep. It may keep you awake or, if you do fall asleep, it can cause you to have a restless night or wake up during the night.
Physical Over-exertion Causes Monday Blues
It’s common at the weekends to get into home renovation projects. If you’re fit then this probably doesn’t affect you but if you’re particularly unfit then throwing yourself into a renovations project causes sore muscles which take time to heal.
Gardening is another activity that can cause muscle pains when you’re not used to physical work. I know I like to lay into a project like gardening and have a goal in mind of what I want to get done but often regret it the next day.
If you do the physical work on Saturday you might feel a little sore on Sunday but in my experience there’s a delay and it really hits you on Monday! You wake up on Monday morning aching, sore and tired and the thought of having to get up for work is painful!
Exercise is another way people over-exert themselves. Spending extra time at the gym or going on a long hike can make muscles sore and tired. It’s tempting to do because you’ve got the whole weekend but a little caution goes a long way
So how do we fix that?
Here are some suggestions:
1. If you’re not physically fit only attempt small renovation and gardening projects and get help with the bigger projects
2. Take it in bite-size pieces and take a longish break every hour or so. That way the muscles get a little chance to rest in between spurts of activity
3. If you want to hit the gym or go on a hike do so but again, do it in bite-size pieces. Ideally you would do some exercise during the week as well so it’s not such a shock to the system
4. Try taking a calcium and magnesium supplement. This helps to relax the muscles and it can help you sleep more deeply
You Hate Your Job
It is hard to feel motivated on a Monday when you hate your job. There are many reasons to hate a job. It could be that you don’t have enough to do; maybe you have too much to do; the tasks you have to do are the same day after day; you might not get on with colleagues or your boss; your job is stressful; it’s completely not what you want to do in life and so many more reasons.
Having a job you dislike is a tricky one because obviously you need an income to pay your bills. You can’t just quit because then you’d be in financial trouble. If you’re working more than one job because you need the money it can feel exhausting just thinking about going to work on Monday.
So how do we fix that?
Here are some suggestions to make the job you’re doing less unpleasant and also find something you’d much prefer to do:
1. Make a list of the things you do like about your job. Concentrate on the positive as this will take attention away from the negative.
2. Make a list of the things you don’t like about your job. Alongside each one write down one thing you could do to improve that thing. When you break it down like this you may find that it’s only one or two things you really don’t like and that there is something you can do about it.
3. If it’s a problem with the people you work with try talking to them or to your boss and see if something can be done to improve the situation.
4. If you don’t feel like you are being used to the best of your abilities talk to the relevant person and see if you can take on more responsibilities.
5. If your job is too stressful do the same as in #2. Write a list of all the things that are causing you stress and then alongside each one write down something that you can do about it.
6. If you really don’t want to do that job then write down what your ideal job would be. Then note down if you would need to get some training in order to do that. Work out how you could get that training in your spare time and then start working towards it.
Summary
Those are just 3 reasons that Mondays are so hard and some things you can do to make them less hard. When you’re well-rested, you enjoy your job and the people you work with, then Monday is a day just like any other day of the week!
If you have other reasons Mondays are hard then please do add a comment below.