Sleep and the Super Bowl

The cries (or are they moans?) are ringing out today, as they do every year on the Monday after the Super Bowl. The cries/moans are from people who had a little too much fun with the food and drink while they were celebrating the biggest game of the NFL season last night. These people are asking (begging?) for a national holiday the day on Super Bowl Monday.

Some businesses, particularly those in the Charlotte and Denver (where the Super Bowl competitors are from) were most likely a little lenient about their employees showing up exactly on time. But, for many of those who live in the rest of the country, the alarm probably went off a little too early this morning.

A case could be made for giving the majority of the country the day off today. The issues are food, drink (the kind with alcohol in it) and staying up too late. Too much food OR alcohol is going to negatively affect the quality of your sleep. Staying up too late is something we shouldn’t have to address. If you stay up too late, you’re going to be tired!

So … what’s the solution?  The national holiday idea seems to be gaining at least a little momentum.  The web site SuperBowlMonday.com is trying to start a grass roots coalition to call for the new day off.  Other sites, such as the Yahoo Sports Blog Shutdown Corner, took up the call in previous years:

I don’t even care what we call it. If the government is hesitant to create a new national holiday for the Super Bowl, pick some president or some other famous American, and name it after them. Call it Jimmy Carter Day, Denzel Washington Day, Sully Sullenberger Day, Philip Rivers Day or Joey Buttafuoco Day, for all I care. Just as long as it happens the Monday after the Super Bowl, and everyone gets that day off of work.

An idea that would require no discussion in the U.S. Congress would be for the NFL to move the game from Sunday to Saturday.  Most of the country is off work on Sunday already.  The only thing that could change is attendance in churches that week.

The easiest answer, and the one that would require the least amount of change, is to simply celebrate in moderation.  Watching the amount you eat and drink, and making sure you get to bed at a reasonable hour, will ensure Monday morning features as little pain as possible.