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Sunday scaries: why Sunday night can be the hardest night to sleep

If last night felt long, you had company. As Sunday evening rolled around, social media filled with people describing that familiar sinking feeling: the weekend gone in a flash, Monday looming, and a mind that wouldn't switch off at bedtime. One person napped at 9pm and then couldn't sleep at all. Another simply asked why Sunday always feels stronger than Monday.

There's a name for it: the Sunday scaries. It isn't a medical term, but it is a very real experience, and it often shows up in your sleep.

Here is what's behind the Sunday scaries, why they can make Sunday the hardest night to drift off, some simple ways to ease into the week, and how the Thrive Health Band shows your own Sunday pattern.

What are the Sunday scaries?

Psychologist Dr Luke Martin from Beyond Blue has described the Sunday scaries to SBS News as a common experience of feeling stressed and anxious about the week ahead, usually towards the end of the weekend. He calls it a form of anticipatory anxiety: your mind gets busy trying to predict problems and solve them before they happen. It can bring worry or dread, and sometimes physical signs such as feeling a bit panicky, headaches or trouble sleeping.

Sleep psychologist Dr Moira Junge, chief executive of the Sleep Health Foundation, has told the Sydney Morning Herald it's not only worry about Monday. It's also the sense of trying to squeeze every last bit of "me time" out of the weekend before the busy week rolls in.

Why Sunday night sleep can be harder

  • A revved-up body doesn't settle easily. Junge explains that when you're stressed, overstimulated or overwhelmed, your body isn't in the relaxed state that good sleep needs. A racing mind often comes with a faster heart rate and tense muscles.
  • Your weekend timing may have shifted. Later nights and sleep-ins on Saturday and Sunday can leave you less sleepy at your usual weeknight bedtime. Our article on social jetlag covers that side of things.
  • The late Sunday catch-up. Checking work emails or planning the week at 10pm puts work back in your head just as you're trying to wind down.
  • Revenge "me time". Staying up late to hold on to the weekend can push bedtime back further.

None of this means something is wrong with you. If you've got a big week ahead, some Sunday night nerves are a normal response.

Simple ways to ease into Monday

  • Plan Monday earlier in the weekend. Junge suggests setting aside a little time earlier in the weekend to plan for Monday, because late on Sunday night can be too little, too late.
  • Make Sunday evening something to look forward to. A favourite meal, a walk, a call with a friend or a show you love can soften the shift.
  • Set a screens-down time. Pick a time after which work emails and heavy news wait until morning.
  • Try slow breathing. A few minutes of slow, steady breaths can help your body shift down a gear.
  • Only head to bed when you're sleepy. If you're lying awake and wide awake, get up and do something restful in dim light until you feel sleepy again.
  • Keep wake-up times steady. A big Sunday sleep-in can make Sunday night harder.
  • Notice what the worry is about. If it's the same thing every week, that's useful to know. Our article on work stress and sleep has more ideas.

How Thrive shows your Sunday pattern

The Band has no screen, so nothing lights up on your wrist at bedtime. Wear it day and night, and the Thrive by Optihealth app shows how your Sundays compare with the rest of your week.

  • Stress and heart rate through the day. See how your stress and heart rate trend through Sunday afternoon and evening, not just overnight. Thrive measures HRV itself, so you can also see how your overnight HRV compares with your usual.
  • QQRT sleep scores. Thrive scores each night on Quantity, Quality, Regularity and Timing, so you can see whether Sunday nights tend to start later or run shorter. Tonight's focus suggests three simple actions for the night ahead.
  • Check-ins. Log mood, stress and energy, and add your own factor, such as "Sunday scaries" or "big week ahead", so it shows up in your patterns.
  • Bedtime reminder. Set a reminder to start winding down at a time that suits you.
  • Breathing and sound sessions. Guided breathing sessions help you slow down, and sound sessions use binaural beats that may help you relax and drift off.
  • Ask Thrive. Try "How does my sleep on Sunday nights compare with other nights?" or "Is my stress higher on Sunday evenings?"

If you'd like someone in your corner, Thrive Loops lets you share selected information with a participating trainer, health professional or someone you trust. You decide what to share and with whom, and you can change or revoke access at any time.

Thrive also learns what is usual for you across nine areas of your health, from what the Band measures and what you log, and keeps track right across your health, including heart, temperature, stress and mood, meals and Food Fit, blood tests, medications and supplements and your medical history.

If you look after a team

Sunday night dread every week can be a sign that work demands aren't sustainable. Thrive Workforce gives organisations insights on stress, burnout and fatigue across a team. Sharing is always each person's own choice. Their employer can't switch it on or off, and no one sees an individual's data unless that person chooses to share it.

When to talk to your GP

If Sunday night worry is happening most weeks, it's keeping you awake regularly, or the dread is spreading into the rest of your week, talk with your GP. Thrive isn't a diagnosis, but Ask Thrive can help you get ready by lining up a few weeks of your sleep, stress and mood check-ins, so you can describe what's been happening. Here is how to use Ask Thrive before a GP appointment. If you'd like to talk to someone now, call Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, or Lifeline on 13 11 14 any time.

Before you buy

You'll need a compatible iPhone or Android phone, because the Thrive app is on the Apple App Store and Google Play, in Australia and eight other countries. The app stores are only for downloading the app, though; they aren't where you buy the Band or a Plan. You can buy at thrivehealthband.com, or at a participating World Gym Australia location or health and wellness clinic.

The Thrive Health Band is A$660 for the first year under the launch offer. That includes the Band, which is yours to keep, and 12 months of the Thrive by Optihealth app, My Health on the web, Health Fingerprint, Ask Thrive, Thrive Loops and your data, paid once upfront. Prices are in AUD and include GST. Free Australia-wide shipping during the launch offer (usually A$14.99).

Nothing renews automatically. After your first year, you can get a new band plus 12 more months for A$660, or keep your band and renew the Thrive Connected Plan for A$240 a year, or A$29 a month with no lock-in.

You're also covered by a 12-month Thrive Care Warranty, and consumer guarantees under Australian Consumer Law always apply. See Returns if something is wrong with your purchase.

Common questions

What are the Sunday scaries?

It's the worry or dread some of us feel as the weekend ends and the working week gets closer. Psychologists describe it as anticipatory anxiety. It isn't a medical term.

Why can't I sleep on Sunday nights?

Worry about the week can keep your body revved up, and later weekend nights and sleep-ins can leave you less sleepy at your usual bedtime.

Can Thrive show whether Sunday nights are different for me?

Yes. Thrive shows your stress, heart rate and sleep scores night by night, and Ask Thrive can compare Sunday nights with the rest of your week.

For more answers, see Questions.

Sources

Thrive is intended to support general health, fitness and wellbeing. It is not a medical device and does not diagnose, treat or prevent any condition. If you're concerned about your health, talk to a qualified health professional.