You know what’s on my mind this morning? Sleep. As in, Sunday night sleep. I struggle with it and I’m not sure exactly why. Last night was better than most but there was still a fair amount of awake time in the wee hours, my thoughts on overdrive.
I’m not alone in this struggle. Sunday night sleep problems . . . dubbed Sunday-somnia . . . are a real thing that many struggle with and it’s related to . . . wait for it . . . anxiety. Of course. Some studies I read mentioned that it’s anxiety related to a difficult commute or Monday morning meetings but neither of those are issues for me. I actually have a job that I enjoy and find satisfying so returning to work shouldn’t be anxiety producing for me.
And yet, I’m pretty sure it is. I’ve ruled out the other typical reasons for Sunday-somnia: having different sleep cycles on the weekends (I don’t), drinking more on the weekends (I don’t), taking naps (I don’t), so yeah. It’s anxiety related to the start of the week. My therapist and I discussed this recently and she thinks it’s related to me having to give up my freedom when Monday rolls around. I think she’s on to something there, frankly, because I truly value and appreciate having whole days to myself to do whatever I want at whatever time I want.
The reality is that retirement is still 6 years away for me so daily freedom isn’t coming any time soon. I don’t have any good answers yet on how I can mitigate the anxiety and sleep better on Sunday nights but rest assured . . . it’s on my mind.
I am retired, but I have a bit of anxiety related to the beginning of a new week. I think, for me, over the past year or so, it is related to wondering too much what the new week will bring. It hasn’t been so great lately! It’s one disturbing thing after another! The weekends seem quieter on that front. So, that’s my theory for me.
I hope awareness of the source will help you temper your Sunday night anxiety. Or maybe a change in circumstance will help. Things are going to get better if we can just wade through the next few months. Have a good Monday, Carole.
Bummer. If it were me, I would make sure I get exercise earlier in the day (outside helps me most). Then, plan something to look forward to on Monday. Maybe it’s the day you get your favorite coffee treat, take flowers to the office or plan a dinner Dale can pop in the oven so you get the night off from cooking. I used to plan my day the night before so I could cross off a task early, bonus points if it was critical or unpleasant because I could feel good about not having to do that anymore. Or some other thing you would like to look forward to as you get ready for the day. Good luck.
Interesting- I have been having sleep trouble for almost a month but not restricted to Sundays- every day I am waking way too early with that I’m awake buzz. I hope you get this figured out. The fatigue is brutal.
Aside from meditation and melatonin, I don’t have much good advice. I hope you sleep well on Monday nights!
I might add a cup of tea to the equation (along with meditation!) I have found that a nice cup of herbal tea an hour or so before bedtime is a good help to begin to settle down for the evening. I hope you can solve this because being sleep deprived just is horrid.
I had the same insomnia last night! Arrgh! I’m always amazed when l feel pretty functional, like this morning. I do stay up a little later on weekends but my caffeine was in the a.m. l forest bathed for almost 2 hours but returning to work and being exposed to cavalier coworkers is def in there. Plus navigating the very different personalities is difficult.
Ugh. I’m sorry. I’ve been suffering from insomnia and wakefulness a bit more than usual lately. There is so much that one can be anxious about… funny how those thoughts just wiggle in and camp out. I have no suggestions. Sometimes, concentrating on deep breathing can help me fall back asleep, but sometimes I just can’t focus! (And, weirdly, I slept GREAT last night… but not the night before!)
Oh I am so with you. Sunday’s have been terrible for years. I don’t work Monday’s now so it’s a lot better and the weird thing…it doesn’t happen on Monday’s. I’ll give a nod to the herbal tea…it does seem to help a bit!
I noticed something similar when in my late teens. Sundays I was a ‘bear’. Then realized it was because I wasn’t looking forward to the ‘work’ week and my boyfriend of the time had to go back to his school that was not close. Later I found myself trying to cram everything into the Sunday because I was going back to work on Monday. Sundays were never feeling like a day of rest, lol.
Wishing you a good nights sleep and peaceful dreams. I wake most every night in the middle of the night and have difficulty getting back to sleep. I’m not anxious or worried about things (that I’m aware of) and I truly believe mine is age related. I sometimes just practice my yoga breathing. Once or twice I’ve turned on my Kindle and read a bit, but usually I just lie there. I always fall back asleep…sometimes it just takes hours. It’s annoying, but there are other more annoying things for me.
Ugh. We used to call them “the Monday dreads” here . . .
I’ve been having terrible sleep problems for several months. I have no trouble falling asleep, but I wake up at 3:00 with my mind running on a hamster wheel. It’s been slightly better since the election, but it still happens way too often.
I always have that on Monday night too. I partially blamed it on The Walking Dead but I hardly watch the spin offs so I think it is back to work Monday anxiety. Work has had lots of changes since July and I think that is it and working from home. I have about 10 years to retirement so no relief for me anytime soon.
I haven’t had issues with Sunday sleep lately (or at least not that are restricted to Sunday night), but my daughter definitely has issues. It’s always frustrating. I hope you find something that helps you settle and sleep better.
I don’t have insomnia from it, but I feel the same about my loss of freedom. I despise having events on my calendar. Even events I’m excited about. They give me that “I have to go do…” feeling rather than spontaneously deciding that I’m going to go do… It’s terrible!
Interesting thought about giving up freedom on Mondays. I can see that-