Sleeping through Saturday?
It’s not laziness or self-care, it’s chronic burnout and sleep debt
Why Saturdays vanish into a vortex of sleep and exhaustion
When you’re doing nothing, daydreaming, spacing out, your brain activates what’s called the default mode network..
You blink, and the weekend is over.
Where did it go?
Into sleep.
Dubai-based sales professional Shambhavi Singh wonders why she doesn’t feel this exhausted during the workweek. But by the time Saturday arrives, she has no energy left for anything else. She retreats to bed, ignoring dinner plans and messages from friends.
The fatigue is overwhelming, she simply doesn’t have the bandwidth to step outside.
We’re constantly operating in overdrive, chasing deadlines, jumping between back-to-back meetings, and trying to tick off never-ending to-do lists.
This keeps our bodies locked in a chronic fight-or-flight mode, a built-in stress response to pressure.
Burnout is contagious: How it spreads at work and home, what you can do to break the chain
Burnout isn’t a solitary fight, it spreads to those around you
We have a tendency to unconsciously absorb and mirror the emotions of those around us, so we get affected by others negativity.
It started with the little, insignificant details. Sleeping without dinner. Sleeping in on weekends after a week of working till late at night. Dubai-based Neha Kumar (name changed on request), a sales professional narrates the first-hand experience of witnessing her husband’s burnout and the effect it had on her family. “Over time, he lost the desire to do anything except focus on his work. It was exhausting to see him like that, and my children really missed his presence at meals and on the weekends. I just grew tired watching him, and it went on like that for two weeks,” she says. It came to a grinding halt when she found that her children had decided to plan a weekend away with their friends, as her son told her, “It’s just sad being home now.”
And then the weekend hits. Without alarms or obligations, your body seizes the opportunity to finally catch up. “That’s why you might find yourself sleeping in far later than usual or needing naps just to function,” she says. It’s your brain and body attempting to repay the massive energy deficit built up over the week. But here’s the catch: Oversleeping or irregular weekend sleep patterns can actually throw your body clock off even more, making it harder to feel rested when Monday returns.
Farid Elazar, a clinical psychologist at the American Centre for Psychiatry and Neurology in Dubai, once explained to Gulf News that constant fight-or-flight schedules drains the brain. “The part of the brain that handles decision-making and complex thinking, the frontal lobe, just above the eyes, is like our mental CPU,” he said. “It’s constantly processing during the week, especially when we’re ticking off tasks.”
That’s when distractions come in. Many people try to numb this discomfort by sleeping it off, binge-watching shows, or scrolling endlessly through social media. But Elazar explains that passive consumption isn’t truly restful, it drains us further. “The brain still needs stimulation, something engaging but not overwhelming. And if it doesn’t get that, you’re left feeling unfulfilled, foggy, and just… off.”
The final word: True rest isn’t about shutting your brain off, it’s about giving it the right kind of space to wander, reflect, and recover without spiralling into mental overload.
So, how to stop the weekends from disappearing:
Take stock of your work situation and identify tasks that can be delegated or redistributed.
Setting clear boundaries is essential, not just for productivity, but for protecting your mental well-being, explains Perry.
To manage rising anxiety, try incorporating breathwork, meditation, or journaling into your routine. Also, be mindful of screen time: aim to unplug at least an hour before bed. This small habit can significantly improve your sleep quality during the week and help reduce burnout on your days off.
And when it comes to downtime, Elazar recommends keeping Netflix binges and social media scrolling in check, moderation is key.
Here are some tips:
• Prioritise relaxation: Schedule downtime for activities you truly enjoy, whether it’s reading, spending time in Nature, or simply taking a nap.
• Plan activities well: Schedule activities that energise you, not drain you.
• Limit screen time before bed: The blue light emitted from electronic devices can interfere with sleep. Avoid screens for at least an hour before bedtime.
• Exercise regularly: Regular physical activity can improve sleep quality, but avoid strenuous exercise too close to bedtime.
Leave a Reply