I want to relax on weekends, not weekedays.
October 30, 2010 5:06 AM Subscribe
I want to get up early on weekdays, but can't. I want to sleep in on weekends, but I can't. Why? Can I switch this?
I have such a hard time getting up Monday through Friday. It's a struggle to get my feet on the floor before 8:30. On Saturday and Sunday, though, I am awake by six or seven, feel full of energy and ready to get work done.
During the week I don't have to go to my office until noon, so I never have to worry about being late for work. Still, I always have tons of work to do and I can't afford to sleep late during the week.
Also, girlfriend does not think it's awesome that when she gets up every morning to go to her 9-5 job I am in a coma. On Saturdays when we can both just sleep in in relax, I'm making coffee and grading papers.
So -- is there any way to reverse this quirky sleep schedule?
I normally go to bed around 11-12, seven nights a week.
I have such a hard time getting up Monday through Friday. It's a struggle to get my feet on the floor before 8:30. On Saturday and Sunday, though, I am awake by six or seven, feel full of energy and ready to get work done.
During the week I don't have to go to my office until noon, so I never have to worry about being late for work. Still, I always have tons of work to do and I can't afford to sleep late during the week.
Also, girlfriend does not think it's awesome that when she gets up every morning to go to her 9-5 job I am in a coma. On Saturdays when we can both just sleep in in relax, I'm making coffee and grading papers.
So -- is there any way to reverse this quirky sleep schedule?
I normally go to bed around 11-12, seven nights a week.
Best answer: My bet is that you don't deal well with internalized expectations, which has little to do with hating your job. It may be that you just can't handle doing what you think is expected of you, and that this hits both ways in your case (darn, I'm in a coma on weekend mornings too).
So the first step could be to sit down very quietly and try to find out what you yourself would really like to happen. I feel there's a difference between getting up because I think that people normally get up at that time, and getting up because I actually want to do it for its own sake.
Which brings me to a second possible cause. I've learned this from playing concerts.
In my experience, (unless one is totally stressed and can't sleep at all, of course) the 'background mind' makes some rough estimations of future stress/workloads and adjusts itself accordingly in terms of sleep patterns. If I know that I have to go out of the house all sorted, instrument packed in the car and sandwiches prepared, at 2, rehearse at 5:30, perform at 7 and drive back until around midnight, I just won't get active before 12 at all, not matter what I try. Some very powerful slowdown thing prevents me from draining my energies before I need them.
The silly thing is, if I have to play around the corner, I still react like that; habit, no doubt.
So, just thinking. If you are due at the office at noon, your brain perhaps says 'save yourself for that' and slows you down beforehand. On weekends, endless time ahead, nothing of the kind will happen.
posted by Namlit at 7:17 AM on October 30, 2010 [2 favorites]
So the first step could be to sit down very quietly and try to find out what you yourself would really like to happen. I feel there's a difference between getting up because I think that people normally get up at that time, and getting up because I actually want to do it for its own sake.
Which brings me to a second possible cause. I've learned this from playing concerts.
In my experience, (unless one is totally stressed and can't sleep at all, of course) the 'background mind' makes some rough estimations of future stress/workloads and adjusts itself accordingly in terms of sleep patterns. If I know that I have to go out of the house all sorted, instrument packed in the car and sandwiches prepared, at 2, rehearse at 5:30, perform at 7 and drive back until around midnight, I just won't get active before 12 at all, not matter what I try. Some very powerful slowdown thing prevents me from draining my energies before I need them.
The silly thing is, if I have to play around the corner, I still react like that; habit, no doubt.
So, just thinking. If you are due at the office at noon, your brain perhaps says 'save yourself for that' and slows you down beforehand. On weekends, endless time ahead, nothing of the kind will happen.
posted by Namlit at 7:17 AM on October 30, 2010 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: I actually love my job. I am under a lot of stress and haven't done much exercising in the last few months. I am in the last semester of an extremely self-directed grad program and my thesis draft is due in a couple weeks. i am going to hit the deadline, and I think my stress and worry over that has peaked, but I'm still preoccupied. I also do freelance editing, so I have, basically 3 jobs, and if I am awake I can easily be working.
posted by Buffaload at 8:23 AM on October 30, 2010
posted by Buffaload at 8:23 AM on October 30, 2010
When I did shift work I often had to forcibly change my sleep pattern and it was such a struggle at first - its something you have to work at. Now that I have that experience under my belt I know the exact requirements to get me to sleep at a certain time and up for a certain time. It takes setting a routine and practice and doing or refraining from doing certain things before bed. For example, I know if I have even just one glass of wine an evening, I know that getting up the next morning is tougher. So on mornings I have to get up early, I don't drink the night before. If you experience this, perhaps have a few drinks on Friday and Saturday nights and sleeping in on weekends will be easier. For mornings I have to be up and coherent by, lets say 6AM....I prepare to put myself into my bed about 8 hours before - so I'm literally winding down around 9pm and zonked out by 10pm. I set three alarm clocks. If its light out, I use a blackout curtain (heavy curtain) that blocks all light from bedroom window. I drink chamomile tea before bed, read, try not to watch TV in bed. Get in this habit - it was not easy at first - but it does get easier as it becomes routine.
posted by dmbfan93 at 8:31 AM on October 30, 2010
posted by dmbfan93 at 8:31 AM on October 30, 2010
This is a very interesting post, and some very interesting answers!
I am a weekday morning zombie also
posted by Sutekh at 2:46 AM on October 31, 2010
I am a weekday morning zombie also
posted by Sutekh at 2:46 AM on October 31, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
I'm willing to bet it's either one of those things or self-fulfilling prophecy.
I also have trouble getting up on weekdays and have no trouble on weekends, but here it's a difference of how I wake up (no alarm on the weekends, no panic to get up earlier,) what kind of evening I had the night before (I have schoolwork due every Sunday, Wednesday, and Thursday night,) and the fact that on weekdays I'm judging myself on a "must be out of the house by 7:40 or DOOM" basis, but on weekends it's more like "hey, neat, it's 8:30 and I'm not a useless log" sort of thing. I don't think those issues apply here, except maybe the Friday/Saturday activities.
posted by SMPA at 6:20 AM on October 30, 2010 [1 favorite]