The clock ticks faster on Sunday night. Or so it seems. It's because you know you're down to hours before Monday morning--the blaring alarm clock (if you still need one), the commute, the In Box, the co-workers, the To Dos, the work itself... the daily grind.
There's a name for all this: Monday blues. Which makes for restless Sunday nights, at least according to one recent survey across America and Europe.
Based on 24,224 responses in a poll conducted by the online job finder
Monster.com, 82 percent of U.S. workers and 85 percent of U.K. workers
said they have problems sleeping at least some of the time, but
respondents noted their sleep is most frequently affected on Sundays,
when thoughts of getting back to the routine the next day get in the
way. More than half admitted that they are affected every single week!
Can we change this? With a few psychological shifts, maybe.
Why Can't We Sleep on Sundays?
At first I
thought that perhaps the people polled don't have jobs or careers that
get them excited--they haven't found a true passion that eliminates the
whole "Monday blues" phenomena. After all, Monster.com is a resource
for people seeking new jobs. So, if the poll grabbed people who aren't
in a steady, fulfilling job, you'd expect them to have a harder time
saying good-bye to the weekend.
But then I thought a little more and
came to the conclusion that it really doesn't matter how much you like
or dislike what you do. Work is still work.
Sunday night can be
problematic for reasons many of us all share. The hustle and bustle of
our modern lifestyles--keeping up with our families, our plans, our
careers, our bills, our chores, and even our e-mail In boxes--is
something I think we give ourselves permission to put on mute for at
least part of the weekend. It all comes crashing back on the eve of the
workweek again. So it goes in today's world.
How to Stop Thinking about Monday's Work on Sunday Night
Getting a good night's sleep on Sunday may require more attention to
the details of relaxation. Some ideas from my book Beauty Sleep:
- Set a boundary, say 5:00 PM, after which you do NOT do any work(business or personal) or even check e-mail if that gets you thinkingabout To Do's.
that aside. You don't have to worry about them again for the rest of
the night.
movie, get a massage, find a hot tub. See if your spouse is feeling
sexy.
The time has come to put Sunday night to bed! Just imagine how much more work you'll get done in the new week. (Wink, wink).
This article is cross-posted at Dr. Breus's Blog, The Insomnia Blog.