Stop sleeping in on weekends – thats how scientists have cured feeling like you have a hangover Monday morning.
A new study has found that sleeping in Saturday and Sunday disturbs your internal body clock making you feel tired, exhausted, lethargic and feeling like crap.
Flinders Uni sleep expert Leon Lack said people often use the weekend to catch up on sleep lost during the week but that it comes at a cost. “We’ve discovered that these sleep-ins are actually putting your body out of whack enough to change your Sunday night bedtime and set you up for Monday blues” . Mr Lack’s research team tested sixteen people over a few weekends asking them to go to bed a little later than they would on a weeknight but sleeping in an extra two hours in the morning.
They then compared saliva and hormone samples and found that participants body clocks had been delayed by forty five minutes. “That might not sound like a lot but it means that you’re not quite as tired on Sunday night at the normal bedtime and you will be much sleepier the next day,” Prof Lack said. Questionnaires completed on Monday and Tuesday showed much higher levels of self reported fatigue and tiredness compared with pre sleep in days. This is because of an effect similar to jet lag. It’s called “Circadian rhythms” and they determine patters of tiredness and exhaustion. “These days, we’re pushing ourselves a lot, particularly during the week and the weekend is our only refuge,” Prof Lack said. By Wednesday/Thursday everyone starts to get back onto track but they start the cycle again by staying up later, and then try to catch up by sleeping in weekends once again. The problem, he says, is that this comes at a price.
“It’s a bit like paying off a mortgage – you take out a big one and you’ll have a lot to pay off later on.”
Interesting article this.
I always had suspicions it was something to do with sleeping in longer. Despite the fact ive often slept in on weekends – you don’t feel any better. I often feel much better straight after drinking a berocca with ice and going for a walk. Obviously the walk, weights or personal training sessions power your metabolism up and get things moving.
I’ll try it out mate! Cheers