The Real Reason You Hate Mondays
No, it's not from the thought of the work week ahead of you, dealing with your boss, co-workers or, actually, anything about work. It has everything to do with your sleep - you hate Monday's because you're tired. Here’s why.
We have a natural sleep-wake cycle largely based on the sun, called our circadian rhythm. In it's simplest form it's the interplay between two hormones, melatonin and cortisol, which are both affected by light exposure, hence the sun's involvement. When we are on a regular schedule, our circadian rhythm is in sync with our lifestyle, and we function better. When you throw two out-of-sync days in the middle of this routine, it messes with your rhythm, making it more difficult to fall asleep, wake up and function to your full potential.
Both mainstream and naturopathic doctors agree that one of the best long-term treatments for sleep issues is something called "sleep hygiene". No, this is not about how clean you are when you go to bed. Rather it’s about but how "clean" your sleeping situation is in general.
Although there are many aspects to sleep hygiene, like reducing TV time before bed and limiting naps, the most important and effective is routine. And this is why you hate Mondays - your routine is out-of-whack.
Let's look at an example. Say someone works a typical 9 to 5 job, they need to wake up at 6:30am during the week in order to get to work on time. Since they get up relatively early, they have lights out at the reasonable time of 11 pm. During the weekend however, this person likes to stay up a little later, let's say until 1 or 2 am, and they sleep in to 9 or 10 am. When 6:30 am Monday rolls around, your circadian rhythm has been thrown off just enough to make Monday a drag.
If you suffer "from a case of the Mondays" every Monday, do yourself a favour, try keeping your sleep-wake routine consistent. Yes, Saturday and Sunday too. Do this for three or four weeks and while you will still have to report to work for that 9 to 5 job, Monday's should be a little more tolerable.
If you have any questions about how to reach your full potential, don't hesitate to contact me, book an appointment, or stop by the clinic.
Thanks for reading,
Dr. Oake