Do you like to lie down?

Many of us like to lie down and spend more time in bed on the weekends, enjoying a long-awaited rest. Maybe we eat breakfast in bed, read the papers, doze off and on, catch up on our sleep, get cozy with our partners.

It’s a one-time delight, a lovely way to spend a lazy Saturday or Sunday. Sleeping on days off or during vacations is also a great way to manage stress, relax, and reconnect with important areas of our lives.

Yet throughout the global pandemic, every day has turned into a weekend for many of us. There is no real pressure to get out of bed. And with many children being homeschooled and businesses adopting work from home as their preferred option, getting up in the morning has become a calmer, less urgent requirement.

But as time goes by, is this a healthy way to live? Yes, we all like to go to bed from time to time, but if every day feels like a weekend, are we establishing good habits for the future? Are we in danger of getting used to sleeping too much and developing an unfortunate approach to our days?

Having a reason to get up in the morning gives us a sense of urgency. If each day feels the same, with no real structure or purpose, it can become demotivating and depressing. ‘Why bother, I’ll do it another time’ may well become the mindset.

Certainly, children’s mental health has become a growing concern as both parents and children struggle with parents who are unprepared to teach or have other things to do. Staying in bed in the morning is a way to postpone the start of another sad day, especially when there is no in-person teaching or social contact for the children.

A January 2021 survey (The Guardian newspaper, January 29) revealed that more than 80% of teachers had found that their students’ mental health had deteriorated in the previous two years, and the figure rose to 90% in higher education students. Feelings of helplessness, low mood, loss of motivation have been evidenced. Students who refuse to get out of bed, wash, dress, or attend classes, instead staying up late at night, playing games with their friends online have become more and more common.

While sleep quality is an important component in stress management, health, and wellness, getting too much or the wrong kind of sleep doesn’t help and can lead to apathy, lethargy, and inertia. Think of those times when you got a headache after staying in bed too long on weekends or felt really groggy at Christmas after days of eating, drinking, and dozing off in front of the TV.

When going to bed ceases to be a pleasure and becomes more and more a part of our regular routine, it loses its benefits and charm. Lying down and sleeping too much becomes a problem.

– Discuss the reasons. Why do you go to bed so often? Is it because every day is merging, a kind of Groundhog Day, where yesterday, today and tomorrow all have the same aimless, ‘here we go again’ quality? Motivation, perspective, and gratitude can help raise the bar a bit.

– Reflect on what you do have. Do you live near a beautiful countryside, do you have a nice home, food, clothes, warmth, internet access? All of this can become invisible after spending months indoors, but focus on what you have and try to manage each day, one at a time. Appreciate the importance of fresh air and exercise and how it benefits your mood and quality of sleep.

– Enter a reason for getting up. Maybe you decide to take an early morning walk in your local park or field. Dog walkers have an advantage as they rarely go to bed and often see familiar faces, they get to share some friendly interaction and some banter! Or there could be an early online class that appeals to you; Many exercise classes, networking meetings, and training sessions have been adapted online, and several are free or nominally priced to attend.

– Have someone to report to, someone who is on a similar wavelength, who appreciates your situation and understands how you feel. When you know you’re going to talk about your day, it’s a good motivator to get up and encourages you to have a success or two to report.

– Plan the night before, with options for both rainy days and good weather days. Giving yourself something to look forward to can provide the motivation and impetus to get up, get dressed, and go out.

– Commit to going to bed a little earlier. It can be tempting to waste mornings, then feel guilty and stay up late to catch up on things we should have done. Or perhaps we have become accustomed to lazing around, staying indoors with little reason to go out, possibly not even dressing properly, dozing off and on, and watching TV until the wee hours of the morning.

Commit to cleaner clothes that bring a little more structure to your days. Then you will really be able to appreciate those moments when you decide to lie down and relax.