Sleeping through Saturday? It's not laziness or self-care, it's chronic burnout and sleep debt

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.

The weekend exhaustion is real. And our Saturdays, if not the whole weekend, disappear into an entire vortex of sleep. Why does this happen? Start by looking back at your week, suggests Aliah Khan, a Dubai-based corporate wellness coach. “We’re constantly operating in overdrive, chasing deadlines, jumping between back-to-back meetings, and trying to tick off never-ending to-do lists,” she says. “This keeps our bodies locked in a chronic fight-or-flight mode, a built-in stress response to pressure.”

When this happens, your heart races, your breathing quickens, and your body is flooded with stress hormones. It’s nature’s way of keeping you alert, but after a time, it rarely switches off. You're always on. and always restless.

By the time the weekend rolls around, Khan explains, your body finally slams the brakes. “That surge of adrenaline starts to fade, and the exhaustion catches up with you. It’s no surprise that all you want to do is sleep.” This weekend fatigue, she says, is the result of ongoing mental overload, screen time, and non-stop stimulation that leaves your brain craving stillness.

You might not be aware, but your weekdays could be going in disrupted sleep cycles. You’re staying up late to meet deadlines, or waking up early for meetings, doom-scrolling in bed, or just unable to switch off mentally, explains Elizabeth Perry, a clinical psychologist. And so, you have a case of sleep debt, which is the cumulative effect of not getting enough rest over several nights. 

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.”

But on the weekend, when we finally slow down, something different happens. “When you’re doing nothing, daydreaming, spacing out, your brain activates what's called the default mode network. It’s like the brain’s vacation mode.” In that restful state, your mind begins to consolidate memories and experiences, even if it feels like you're just zoning out.

Still, this downtime has a darker side. “Too much idle time without structure can send us spiralling,” warns Elazar. “I call it the mental kingdom of darkness, that moment when your thoughts drift to past regrets or anxious futures. It’s when overthinking kicks in, and instead of recharging, we sink deeper into mental fatigue.”

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: