Oh No! It’s Monday Morning!

Monday morning, 6:00 am. The alarm clock goes off. For many people, it signals the start of their weekly nightmare. They struggle out of bed and even though they actually had plenty of R & R at the weekend, they feel lethargic and worn out. But why is that? Why are so many people especially tired on Monday morning? If they have in fact had a truly relaxing weekend, they should be ready and raring to go when the new week begins.

What causes it?
Sleep researchers have an answer. They say that it’s because our body has got used to a certain rhythm. We go to work, school or university from Monday to Friday. Most of us get a minimum of six hours sleep a night during this period. We should be getting about seven hours of sleep or more, but we don’t always manage that during the week. And so on weekdays, we build up a sleep debt. Many people catch up on this missed sleep at the weekend.

By sleeping late on Saturday and Sunday, the sleep lost during the week is largely compensated for. So when the weekend draws to a close, we feel less tired than usual. But this has consequences that hit us on Monday. Because people don’t feel as tired on Sunday nights, they take longer to get to sleep and wake up more often during the night. They actually spend less time asleep, which leads to a low recovery factor at the start of the week. Our hormonal balance also aggravates the situation. That’s because it adjusts itself to our working cycle. Studies have shown that most cortisol is distributed on Monday mornings in people who are accustomed to a normal seven-day week. This stress hormone causes much restless sleep and thus also prevents recovery.

To help you prevent Monday mornings from being a total disaster, we have a few tips for you in the next section. Perhaps these will help you get the week off to a better start in spite of those Monday-morning blues.

Our Tipps
Tip 1: On Sunday night, get everything ready that you will need the next day. Start with clothing and finish by preparing all business documents for the next working day.
Tip 2: Take your time on Monday morning. Eat an extra big breakfast, which will help your day start better.
Tip 3: Get your circulation flowing. You don’t have to play sport for an hour. Just stretch and extend like a cat and pedal your legs in the air (you can do this quite easily while lying in bed). This often works wonders.