Tips to beat Monday morning blues

Every Monday, you can’t bear the thought of getting out of bed as you push the snooze button yet again as you cover yourself with your blanket. You wish you had more time to sleep. Does the above experience sound familiar? If it does, you probably suffer from Monday morning blues.

Not a big deal, but read on how to beat the Monday morning depression…

Photo: Marmalade Toast Breakfast (binnur@flickr)

Scientifically, our internal clocks naturally operate on a day that is longer than 24 hours. By the time Monday rolls around each week, a sleep deficit of at least an hour has been built up. This deficit makes it tougher to wake up, but here are some tips to make Monday mornings easier:

Eat your Breakfast: We’ve told you before, and will tell you again, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. If you’re feeling really down, nothing can lift your energy levels better than a plateful of a balanced breakfast. Make sure to have carbohydrate, proteins & some healthy fat. Glucose from carbohydrate makes you mentally efficient and vigilant while Phenylalanine, an essential amino acid is converted into dopamine, instantly increasing energy and alertness. It can be something simple, like multigrain bread with marmalade, or a sandwich along with a glass of low fat milk.

Have a Cup Of Tea/Coffee: A great cure for Monday morning depression is a cup of hot coffee. Caffeine helps keep you awake and alert throughout the day. Coffee has other benefits also like it improves short-term recall and makes migraine drugs more effective. But consume it moderately as too much caffeine can lead to addiction, and can have adverse effects on the body.

Do Morning Exercise: Any exercise like yoga, running, aerobics or swimming releases endorphins (happy hormones) that help you feel happy and reduces stress & anxiety, which often intensifies the feelings of depression brought on by the Monday morning blues. Here is a list of yoga poses to improve your mood.

Try these simple tips to beat your Monday morning blues