Whatever happened to living for the weekend? After five exhausting days of early risings and monotonous routines, adults and teens alike convince themselves that Friday night onwards is more than worth waiting for.

Teenagers are often belittled or even vilified as layabouts but many face as many daunting weekend tasks as their adult counterparts, with demanding part-time jobs, household chores, hours of coursework, homework and revision, as well as the effort of maintaining an active social life.

In modern society there is such pressure to work hard and play even harder that genuine relaxation tends to fall by the wayside.

During the week we overburden our approaching schedule with essays, parties and plans to catch up on much-needed sleep - the fact there is only 48 hours in which to accomplish our ambitious aims is often forgotten.

One friend of mine admits in bouts of despair that sometimes she actually prefers to be at school, safe in the knowledge that she cannot be expected to do anything other than the task in hand and blissfully aware that the day has already been mapped out by another.

The weekend can often prove to be more draining than the week itself, during which we personally cannot be found so much at fault for any failings in time management and productivity levels.

Any sceptics should take note that even the Washington Post recently discussed the phenomenon known as leisure sickness', a term coined by Ad Vingerhoets of Tilburg University in the Netherlands.

Research has shown that weekends and holidays often result in physical ailments, including aches, pain and symptoms resembling the flu!