What exactly is social jet lag? And how can I avoid it?

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Heres how it works.

the weekend arrives and you don’t have to be up for work.

But when that 7am start inevitably rolls back around, you feel like you’ve barely rested.

A woman reaches out of bed to press the snooze button on her alarm clock

You slept well all weekend, so why is Monday morning such a drag?

With social jet lag, you just get a rough start to the working week.

A woman sleeping in bed with her mouth open

The term social jet lag wascoined in 2006 by German researchers.

Social jet lag comes up whenever our circadian rhythm and sleeping patterns are out of sync.

A couple sleep in a bed wearing eye masks

A mismatch between wake times and sleep chronotypeYoursleep chronotyperefers to the sleep schedule your body naturally falls into.

That can make it very hard to get out of bed.

Woman in bed with her hands over her face

(Learn much sleep we need as we agehere.)

As social jet lag is often due to our daily routine, it’s rarely a passing problem.

A woman waking up in bed after a bad night’s sleep

Sleep apneaSleep apnea is a medical condition in which your breathing stops and starts when you sleep.

Alternatively, the Center for Environmental Therapeutics has an in-depthMorning-Evening Questionnairethat can help you learn your sleep style.

Introduce lots of light to your mornings, so your body knows its time to get up.

A man opens the curtains to the windows in his bedroom, letting morning light in

Consider different working hours

We get that this isn’t an option for everyone.

What is social jet lag?#