Discover Why Mornings Make Everything Seem Brighter: Insights from Scientists

Had a rough day at work? Or maybe your date didn’t show up? Don’t fret; things often look brighter in the morning.

A recent study by scientists from University College London revealed something interesting: our mood usually improves when we wake up. People tend to feel better in the morning and worse around midnight. The day of the week and the season also affect how we feel.

Surprisingly, mental health appears to fluctuate more on weekends but tends to be steadier during weekdays. Researchers found that on Mondays and Fridays, people report feeling happier and more satisfied with life compared to Sundays. Tuesdays also show higher happiness levels. However, loneliness seemed consistent throughout the week.

To gather this data, the team analyzed nearly a million survey responses from around 50,000 adults, collected through the UCL Covid-19 social study that started in March 2020 and ran until March 2022. Participants answered questions like how happy they felt or how satisfied they were with their lives in the past week.

Age, health, and employment status were also considered in the analysis. The findings indicated that people generally felt more happiness and a greater sense of life satisfaction in summer compared to winter.

However, the study couldn’t prove direct causes for these feelings. It’s possible that when people choose to answer the surveys could influence the results. Factors like sleep patterns, weather, and geographical location were not accounted for, but they might play a role in mood changes. The researchers suggested that our body clock might be key to understanding these shifts in mental health throughout the day.

For instance, cortisol, a hormone that affects our mood, peaks shortly after we wake up and drops by bedtime. This could explain why many of us feel more positive in the morning.

Dr. Feifei Bu, who worked on the study, emphasized that people generally tend to feel better in the morning and worse at night. However, they noted the timing of survey responses might be influenced by how people feel—those in a better mood might be more likely to engage with surveys in the morning.

If future research confirms these findings, it could help mental health services adjust their support based on the times when people need it most. This could mean offering more resources late at night, for instance.