The Weekend Reset

Chapter 1: The Alarm That Never Stops

Dr. Ethan Carter had spent another sleepless night hunched over patient charts, the dim glow of his computer screen the only light in his cramped office. Five hours. That was all he had managed—again. His body ached, his mind buzzed with exhaustion, and his coffee cup sat empty for the third time that night.

He rubbed his temples, thinking about the latest study his colleague, Dr. Lisa Park, had sent him—"Weekend Sleep Recovery and Cardiovascular Risk." The research suggested that people who slept fewer than six hours during the week but caught up on weekends had a lower risk of heart disease than those who didn’t.

Ethan scoffed. "Easy for them to say," he thought. "Not everyone has the luxury of sleeping in on Saturdays."

But as he stood up, a sharp pain shot through his chest.

Chapter 2: A Warning Ignored

The pain faded as quickly as it came, leaving Ethan breathless. He dismissed it—stress, fatigue, maybe indigestion from the terrible hospital cafeteria food. He had patients to see, surgeries to prep for. Sleep was a luxury he couldn’t afford.

Lisa noticed his ashen complexion in the hallway. "You look like death warmed over," she said bluntly.

"I feel like it," Ethan admitted.

She crossed her arms. "You read the study, right? This isn’t sustainable. Your body needs rest."

Ethan waved her off. "I’ll sleep when I’m dead."

Lisa’s frown deepened. "That might be sooner than you think."

Chapter 3: The Breaking Point

The next week was worse. Ethan’s fatigue turned into dizziness. His hands trembled during a routine procedure, forcing another surgeon to step in. The whispers in the hallways grew louder—"Carter’s slipping."

Then, on Friday night, it happened.

Midway through dictating notes, Ethan’s vision blurred. His chest tightened like a vice. He gasped, clutching at his scrubs as the world spun around him.

The last thing he heard before blacking out was Lisa’s voice shouting, "Code Blue!"

Chapter 4: Waking Up to Reality

Ethan woke up in a hospital bed—his own hospital. Lisa sat beside him, arms crossed, looking equal parts relieved and furious.

"Minor heart attack," she said before he could speak. "You’re lucky."

Ethan swallowed hard. He was a cardiologist. He knew the risks of chronic sleep deprivation. And yet, here he was.

Lisa handed him a printout of the study. "You’re the poster child for this research. Weekend sleep isn’t a perfect fix, but it’s something."

Ethan stared at the data. The numbers didn’t lie.

Chapter 5: The Weekend Experiment

Against his usual instincts, Ethan listened. He canceled his extra shifts. He turned off his phone. And for the first time in years, he slept—deeply, fully, without guilt.

Saturday morning, he woke up at 10 AM, disoriented but alive. The fog in his mind had lifted. His body felt lighter.

By Sunday evening, something had shifted. The constant ache in his chest was gone. His hands were steady.

When he returned to work on Monday, even the nurses noticed. "You look… human," one remarked.

Ethan laughed. Maybe there was something to this "weekend reset" after all.

Epilogue: A New Routine

Ethan didn’t become a perfect sleeper overnight. Old habits died hard. But he made a promise—to himself, to Lisa, to his patients.

He would never take his health for granted again.

And if that meant sleeping in on Saturdays?

Well, his heart could live with that.