WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - In a recent comprehensive study, researchers have explored the mental and physical well-being of an individual during different times of the day.
'Generally, things do seem better in the morning,' the researchers noted. 'There is also an association with day of the week and season, with particularly strong evidence for better mental health and well being in the summer.'
The University College London or UCL researchers analyzed data from more than 49,000 people who answered questions such as, 'In the past week, how happy did you feel?', 'How satisfied have you been with your life?', and 'To what extent have you felt the things you are doing in your life are worthwhile?'
The study, which began in March 2020, monitored participants through March 2022. Factors like participants' age, occupation and health conditions were taken into account.
Published in the BMJ Mental Health, happiness, life satisfaction, and worthwhile ratings were all higher on Mondays and Fridays compared to the same on Sundays, and happiness was also higher on Tuesdays. However, the study found no evidence of changes in loneliness patterns across the days of the week.
Dr. Feifei Bu, from UCL's Department of Behavioral Science and Health, said, 'Our findings suggest that on average, people's mental health and well being are better in the morning and worse at midnight.'
Explaining about the changes in mental health and well-being, the researchers suggested that it might be caused by changes in cortisol levels, which 'peaks shortly after waking and reaches its lowest levels around bedtime'.
'However, this pattern could reflect when people choose to respond to the survey, rather than a direct effect of time of day. For example, those already feeling better in the morning might be more likely to engage with the survey at that time,' Bu noted.
Moreover, the study indicated that participants had lower levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms and loneliness, and higher levels of happiness, life satisfaction and feeling that life was worthwhile during all other seasons except winter.
'While these findings are intriguing, they need to be replicated in other studies that fully account for this potential bias,' Bu concluded.
'If validated, this could have important practical implications. Researchers investigating people's mental health and well being should take into account the time of day people respond.
Copyright(c) 2025 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2025 AFX News
