The Monday after a long weekend, the body feels heavier than usual. A survey by MoonMoon Inc. found that 73.5% of people reported feeling some kind of "unwellness."
- What: A survey on "disruption to daily rhythm after a long weekend"
- When and who: MoonMoon Inc. ran an online survey August 25–27, 2026, of 200 working adults nationwide in their 20s to 60s who work roughly five days a week (note the small sample size, n=200)
- Results: 73.5% felt "some kind of unwellness." Wake-up time was 30 minutes to an hour later for 27.5%, and more than an hour later for 23.0%. The largest group, 34.5%, said their rhythm took 2–3 days to return to normal, while 17.0% said it still hadn't. The most common countermeasure was "trying to go to bed earlier" at 24.6%, followed by "doing nothing in particular" at 18.9%, and "getting sunlight after waking" at 9.2%.
The most-chosen countermeasure was "trying to go to bed earlier," while "getting sunlight after waking" ranked near the bottom (see the breakdown above). That's something the editorial team finds a little puzzling. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's e-Health Net page on "sound sleep and daily habits" reports that morning light exposure helps advance the body clock (we also touched on the gap between the body clock and holiday wake-up times in our piece on social jet lag). Going by that, getting sunlight in the morning should be just as sensible a choice as going to bed earlier at night. But in this survey, it wasn't morning light people reached for — it was an earlier bedtime. If your rhythm still hasn't settled after several days, something beyond the holiday itself may be at play. There's no need to push through it alone — consulting a doctor is always an option.
