The mere utterance of the word “Monday” to any employee or student is usually followed by mumbling and grumbling. Unless it’s a national holiday, Mondays mean the official end of the weekend and the long start to another long week at school, work, or both. And to make matters worse, Mondays mean having to wake up before noon after you spent the last couple of days sleeping in to your heart’s content. Fear no more! We’ve cracked the code as to why Mondays are so dreadfully unbearable—well, Monday mornings anyway!
Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center have conducted a new study that suggests that contrary to popular belief, sleeping as much as possible doesn’t always help us feel more awake or even boost our energy levels. In fact, too much sleep can disrupt the body’s internal clock, which explains why just a few extra hours of sleep on the weekend make getting out of bed even more difficult than normal on Monday morning.
Most of you are guilty of not getting the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep every night on weekdays, am I right? Chores, errands, school, work, and all of the other aspects of your life make it nearly impossible to keep up with the recommended dose of shut-eye every night. A lot of people that don’t get enough sleep on weekdays usually use the weekend as a couple of days to catch up on lost sleep. However, researchers are telling us that sleep recovery is only possible by going to sleep eight hours before we usually wake up—not by going to bed later and then sleeping in. They also included that sleeping in defeats the purpose of feeling more rejuvenated. Sleeping longer than usual makes sleep less efficient because at a certain point, more time is spent on sleeping lightly rather than on restorative sleep (REM sleep).
Researchers explained that our circadian cycle, which controls our body clock, can be messed up by any change in our otherwise regular sleep pattern. This makes sleeping at a reasonable hour on Sunday night more difficult, and Monday mornings are even more unpleasant to go through. In addition, it can take a few days for our circadian cycle to get back to its normal schedule. This means that for a majority of the week, our bodies are struggling to get back to their normal cycles, which will be disrupted once the weekend starts. Basically, it’s a vicious cycle of not getting enough sleep and making up for sleep the wrong way. It’s important to keep to a regular sleep schedule so that your body and mind are rejuvenated and ready for the day