A comprehensive study has found that mental health and wellbeing follow a daily pattern, with people generally feeling brighter in the morning and worse at midnight. The research, led by University College London, analyzed data from nearly 1 million survey responses from over 49,000 adults.
The study discovered that happiness, life satisfaction, and feelings of worth are all higher on Mondays and Fridays compared to Sundays, while Tuesdays also see an increase in happiness. On the other hand, there is no evidence to suggest loneliness changes across days of the week.
Interestingly, the season appears to have a significant impact on mood, with people experiencing lower levels of depressive symptoms and anxiety during the summer months and higher levels of happiness and life satisfaction. Mental health is at its best during the summer, but this may be due to factors such as daily routines rather than a direct effect of time.
The researchers acknowledge that their study is observational, meaning it cannot establish causation, and note that individual differences in responding to surveys could also influence the findings. However, they suggest that physiological changes associated with the body clock, such as cortisol levels, may explain the observed patterns.
The study’s lead author, Dr Feifei Bu, notes that while the findings are promising, more research is needed to fully understand the relationship between time of day and mental health. If validated, these insights could have practical implications for mental health support services, including adjusting resources to match fluctuating needs across the day.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/feb/05/scientists-find-that-things-really-do-seem-better-in-the-morning