It’s Sunday night and you have a big day at work tomorrow. You need to get a really good night’s rest. But Monday morning you wake up tired and not feeling quite rested. What happened?

A new survey sheds light on your situation, which apparently is more common than you might think. There is a reason the Mamas and Papas sang, “Monday. Monday, can’t stand that day!”

Sunday nights are hard nights for most people to fall asleep. Sleep specialist, Michael J. Breus, Ph.D. explains. People suffer form what is called “social jet lag.” Because people tend to stay up later on Friday and Saturday nights and then sleep in on those days, this weekend pattern throws the body into a sort of jet lag-your biological clock acts like it has traveled time zones. So when Sunday night comes, and you are ready to go to bed earlier again, your body says, “Not yet! I’m still on West Coast time here in the East!”

And your biological clock isn’t the only thing at work here. Stress is another factor. Thinking and preparing for the work week or just getting back into the routine (kids and housework) leave us wide-eyed as well. We know this because the  unemployed and students do better at falling asleep on Sunday nights!

Even so, you can help yourself by sticking to your regular sleep schedule on the weekends. I know, really? But it does help!

In terms of the stress, I’ve got lots of help in my Letting Go of Worry book.

One idea is to write down the thoughts that travel through your head so you can put those to rest for the night.

Another is to mediate before bedtime, take a hot bath and wind down with relaxation.

Focus your thoughts on the positive parts of the upcoming week, not the anticipated problems.

Trust God to get you through that stressful week. Whatever comes, you can handle it! Don’t let worried thoughts take over. If they come, replace them with positive thoughts or Scripture like, “I can do all things in Christ, ” or “God is on my side. ” This is how you take thoughts captive. If you don’t, insomnia might take you captive!

Now, relax and get a good night’s rest.