{"id":46619,"date":"2025-07-07T18:23:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-07T18:23:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/46619\/"},"modified":"2025-07-07T18:23:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T18:23:09","slug":"anxious-mondays-leave-lasting-mark-on-stress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/46619\/","title":{"rendered":"Anxious Mondays Leave Lasting Mark on Stress"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Summary: <\/strong>A new study reveals that anxiety felt on Mondays uniquely elevates stress hormones, even in retirees, with potential consequences for heart health. Researchers found older adults who reported Monday anxiety had 23% higher long-term cortisol levels than peers anxious on other days.<\/p>\n<p>This persistent \u201cMonday effect\u201d suggests the cultural transition to a new week disrupts stress regulation, independent of work demands. The findings highlight how ingrained weekly rhythms may amplify cardiovascular risk in aging populations.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Key facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Lasting Stress:<\/strong> Monday anxiety was linked to elevated cortisol levels persisting for two months.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Not Just Work:<\/strong> Retirees also showed the effect, showing Mondays impact stress beyond the workplace.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Heart Risk Link:<\/strong> The biological stress response may help explain why Mondays see a spike in heart attacks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong>Hong Kong University<\/p>\n<p><strong>A research study led by Professor Tarani Chandola from the Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) has revealed that Mondays uniquely drive long-term biological stress, regardless of working status, with implications for heart health.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The research has identified a striking biological phenomenon: older adults who feel anxious on Mondays exhibit significantly higher long-term stress hormone levels, up to two months later.<\/p>\n<p>  <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/anxious-monday-stress-neuroscience.jpg\" alt=\"This shows a stressed man.\"  \/> The findings suggest societal rhythms\u2014not just job demands\u2014embed themselves in human physiology, with lasting health risks. Credit: Neuroscience News<\/p>\n<p>This \u201cAnxious Monday\u201d effect, observed in both working and retirees, points to a deep-rooted link between the start of the week and dysregulation of the body\u2019s stress response system, a known driver of cardiovascular disease (CVD).<\/p>\n<p>Published in the\u00a0Journal of Affective Disorders, the study analysed data from over 3,500 older adults participating in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA).<\/p>\n<p>Key Findings<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>23% Higher Cortisol Levels: Older adults reporting Monday anxiety had 23% elevated cortisol levels in hair samples (reflecting cumulative exposure over two months) compared to peers anxious on other days.<\/li>\n<li>Non-Workers Not Spared: The effect persisted among retirees, challenging assumptions that workplace stress alone explains Monday\u2019s toll.<\/li>\n<li>CVD Connection: Mondays are linked to a 19% spike in heart attacks\u2014this study identifies HPA-axis dysregulation as a potential biological bridge.<\/li>\n<li>Not just higher levels of Monday anxiety: Only 25% of the Monday effect was due to greater feelings of anxiety on Mondays. The rest was because of the greater effect of feeling anxious on Mondays compared to other days.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis regulates stress hormones like cortisol, which, when chronically elevated, contribute to hypertension, insulin resistance, and immune dysfunction.<\/p>\n<p>While prior research noted higher cortisol on weekdays versus weekends, this is the first study to pinpoint Mondays as uniquely disruptive. The findings suggest societal rhythms\u2014not just job demands\u2014embed themselves in human physiology, with lasting health risks.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMondays act as a cultural \u2018stress amplifier,\u2019\u201d said Professor Chandola. \u201cFor some older adults, the week\u2019s transition triggers a biological cascade that lingers for months. This isn\u2019t about work\u2014it\u2019s about how deeply ingrained Mondays are in our stress physiology, even after careers end.<\/p>\n<p>The study underscores how the \u201cMonday blues\u201d can become biologically embedded, with chronic stress hormone dysregulation posing long-term cardiovascular risks. Addressing Monday-specific stress could unlock new strategies to combat heart disease in aging populations.<\/p>\n<p>About this psychology research news<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#ffffe8\"><strong>Author: <\/strong><a href=\"http:\/\/neurosciencenews.com\/cdn-cgi\/l\/email-protection#4f2128252e36222a2a0f27243a612724\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Jaymee Ng<\/a><br \/><strong>Source:<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/hku.hk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong> <\/strong>Hong Kong University<\/a><br \/><strong>Contact: <\/strong>Jaymee Ng \u2013 Hong Kong University<br \/><strong>Image: <\/strong>The image is credited to Neuroscience News<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#ffffe8\"><strong>Original Research: <\/strong>Open access.<br \/>\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1016\/j.jad.2025.119611\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Are anxious Mondays associated with HPA-axis dysregulation? A longitudinal study of older adults in England<\/a>\u201d by Tarani Chandola et al. Journal of Affective Disorders<\/p>\n<p><strong>Abstract<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Are anxious Mondays associated with HPA-axis dysregulation? A longitudinal study of older adults in England<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Objective<\/p>\n<p>To investigate whether the association between perceived anxiety and HPA-axis dysregulation is greater on Mondays than on other days of the week.<\/p>\n<p>Design<\/p>\n<p>Observational study with longitudinal data.<\/p>\n<p>Setting<\/p>\n<p>England.<\/p>\n<p>Participants<\/p>\n<p>3511 adults aged 50\u00a0years and older living in England from 2012 to 2013 participating at wave 6 of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.<\/p>\n<p>Main outcome measures<\/p>\n<p>Levels of hair cortisol and total glucocorticoid production.<\/p>\n<p>Results<\/p>\n<p>This study found strong evidence for an association between reporting anxiety on Mondays and HPA-axis dysregulation. At the 90th quantile of the cortisol distribution, older adults who felt anxious on Mondays had 23\u00a0% higher cortisol levels in the hair samples collected up to 2\u00a0months later than did their peers who reported anxiety on other days. There were no significant differences in cortisol levels or total glucocorticoid production by feelings of anxiety on other days of the week.<\/p>\n<p>The anxious Monday association with HPA-axis dysregulation measured subsequently was evident among both working and nonworking older adults, with no reduction in the association among those not at work. Around three-quarters of the differences in HPA-axis dysregulation between Mondays and other days was due to the differential effects of the characteristics of older adults who reported feeling anxious on Mondays.<\/p>\n<p>Conclusions<\/p>\n<p>HPA-axis dysregulation is pronounced among older adults who report anxiety on Mondays. This association was observed regardless of employment status, suggesting that both working and nonworking older adults are at risk of HPA-axis dysregulation associated with the start of the week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Summary: A new study reveals that anxiety felt on Mondays uniquely elevates stress hormones, even in retirees, with&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":46620,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[1081,1736,827,1944,210,36195,517,36196,829,831,1737,4644,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-46619","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-aging","9":"tag-anxiety","10":"tag-brain-research","11":"tag-cardiovascular-health","12":"tag-health","13":"tag-hong-kong-university","14":"tag-mental-health","15":"tag-monday-effect","16":"tag-neurobiology","17":"tag-neuroscience","18":"tag-psychology","19":"tag-stress","20":"tag-united-states","21":"tag-unitedstates","22":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114813351009700537","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46619"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46619\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}