Recognizing patterns

Why we are in a better mood in the morning than in the evening

According to a British study, people's moods are generally at their best early in the day and at their worst late in the evening.

(Bild: kieferpix - stock.adobe.com)

Our feelings of happiness, fulfillment, satisfaction or loneliness could be influenced not only by the circumstances of our lives, but also by the time of day and the day of the week. A British study shows that people's moods tend to be most positive in the early morning and most negative in the late evening.

Feifei Bu, Jessica Bone and Daisy Fancourt analyzed data from the Covid-19 Social Survey* conducted by University College London, which ran from March 2020 to two years ago.

The findings:

• In general, morning responses evidenced greater well-being while showing the fewest symptoms of anxiety, depression or loneliness. 

• The indications of happiness, life satisfaction and fulfillment also tended to be clearest at this time of day. Conversely, these indicators tended to be most negative around midnight.

• The day of the week also seems to play a role, albeit a rather small one. The scientists observed that happiness, life satisfaction and self-esteem were slightly more pronounced on Mondays and Fridays than on Sundays. 

• However, the indications of perceived loneliness appeared to be independent of the respective day of the week. And: mental health and well-being varied more at weekends than during the week.

• Unsurprisingly, the influence of the time of year was less pronounced: compared to winter, people tended to experience lower levels of loneliness and fewer symptoms of anxiety or depression in the other seasons. At the same time, the values for happiness, life satisfaction and the feeling of a life worth living were higher in these seasons.

As Bu, Bone and Fancourt themselves admit, this is a purely observational study that does not allow any conclusions to be drawn about the causes of the patterns described. In addition, the choice of time at which the participants completed the questionnaires could influence the results. Sleep cycles, "body clock", latitude or the weather could also have had an effect.

*Study: 49,218 participants regularly completed questionnaires in which they provided information on their feelings of happiness and satisfaction as well as the meaningfulness of their activities. In addition, the time, day of the week, season and demographic data such as age, gender, ethnicity, level of education, employment status, place of residence and health factors were recorded. As women (76.5 people) and people with a higher level of education (68 people) were overrepresented, the sample was weighted accordingly to ensure representative results.