Blue Monday does not exist
People may be happier at weekends but a new study busts the myth that their mood is at its lowest at the start of the week compared to other weekdays.
23 July 2012
The weekend is over and a long slog of five days work awaits. No wonder most of us hate Mondays. But are we really at our most miserable at the start of the week, as the Blue Monday myth suggests? A new study conducted in the US claims not.
Arthur Stone and his colleagues made use of data collected by Gallup in 2008. Over 340,000 US citizens were interviewed over the telephone during that year and one of the questions was about their mood the day before. They were asked to say “yes or no” whether they’d felt enjoyment or happiness for a lot of the day, and whether they’d felt worry, sadness, stress or anger for a lot of the day.
A clear pattern emerged, with people reporting far more positive mood and far less negative mood on Saturdays and Sundays, compared with weekdays – an effect that diminished with age and with retirement. Although the contrast with weekdays for them was weaker, retirees still reported being happier at weekends, perhaps because of the availability of friends and family at that time. The pattern of better mood at weekends also held regardless of gender, and regardless of whether interviewees had a partner or not.
Although not as dramatic as the weekend effect, there was also evidence of enhanced mood on Fridays, relative to other days of the week – supporting popular belief in a “Thank God It’s Friday!” effect. But comparing mood on Mondays against mood on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays revealed no evidence of a dip.
“Despite our global beliefs about lousy Mondays, we conclude that this belief should, in general, be abandoned,” the researchers said. “The perception of Blue Mondays is likely prevalent due to the extreme contrast in mood from Sunday to Monday, even though there is no real difference in mood with Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.”
Stone and his team criticised earlier research on this topic for relying on small samples, often made up of student participants. But this new study also had its limitations, as they acknowledged. The methodology was cross-sectional, in that participants only rated their mood at one point in time. This means there’s a possibility of a sampling bias – there may have been something different about people who agreed to participate on some days of the week compared with others. Also people may have misremembered their mood from the day before. And the simple yes/no format for the questioning was unusual – studies of this kind usually deploy a sliding scale for answers. On the plus side, the sample was massive and allowed for the first ever examination of demographic factors in relation to day of the week effects on mood.
Are you convinced by this research, or are you certain that your mood is at its lowest on Mondays?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Arthur Stone, Stefan Schneider, and James K. Harter (2012). Day-of-week mood patterns in the United States: On the existence of ‘Blue Monday’, ‘Thank God it’s Friday’ and weekend effects. Journal of Positive Psychology DOI: 10.1080/17439760.2012.691980
News and articles
- BPS responds to comments from Prime Minister regarding ‘sick note culture’19 Apr 2024The BPS is deeply concerned about comments made by Rishi Sunak, which risk minimising the mental…
- BPS updates
- Senedd inquiry hears about importance of psychology in management of chronic conditions18 Apr 2024All professionals involved in the care of people living with chronic conditions need to have at…
- Health and wellbeing
- Mental health
- More opportunities to take part in Pride in London18 Apr 2024The BPS is expanding the activities members and staff can get involved in during this year’s event…
- Equality, diversity and inclusion
- LGBTQ+
- New editors of PsyPAG Quarterly announced17 Apr 2024The BPS is pleased to announce the two new editors of PsyPAG Quarterly with submissions open for…
- BPS updates
Attend an event
- North West of England BranchIn personLaunch Event: Cutting Edge Research in Psychology Conducted in Chester19 Apr 2024 • 16:30-18:30The BPS North West Branch is working with University of Chester for our first networking session.…
- Research
Free (registration required) - Psychobiology SectionIn personPsychobiology Methods CPD Workshop24 Apr 2024 • 10:00-16:30A workshop for members and non-members to learn more about conducting psychobiological research…
- Careers and professional development
See pricing - Division of Clinical PsychologyDCP Faculty for Oncology and Palliative CareOnline workshopHot Topics, Challenges & Opportunities in Cancer & Palliative Care Psychology24 Apr 2024 • 10:00-15:00Drop in to a day of bite-size 20 minute update sessions on a range of topics across cancer and…
- Oncology
- Palliative care
Free (registration required) - WebinarSupport your client to manage sleep disturbances associated with chronic pain29 Apr 2024 • 10:00-12:00A knowledge of how to best manage sleep problems in those living with chronic pain is important…
- Mental health
- Sleep
From £52.50 +VAT
This is a Pull Quote block
This is a Selector block
Description goes here
Image Rich Text Block
Image / Text Block
Image / Text Block description
Download Libsyn podcast
Or posted directly in the content
https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/psychcrunch/20210513_PsychCrunch_Ep25.mp3
Or as a media file?
https://cms.bps.org.uk/sites/default/files/2024-04/20210513_PsychCrunch_Ep25.mp3
Add an image from the image store below and before the podcast