Hate Mondays? Turns out your body does, too.<\/p>\n
A new study<\/a> from the University of Hong Kong found that older adults who felt anxious on Mondays had 23% higher levels of stress hormone cortisol in their body up to two months later, compared to those who reported anxiety on other days.<\/p>\n And that Monday-specific stress could be quietly damaging your health \u2014 no matter your age, job status or daily routine, experts said.<\/p>\n The study, published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, analyzed data from more than 3,500 adults over age 50 in England. Participants first reported how anxious they felt and what day of the week it occurred. One to two months later, researchers collected hair samples to measure cortisol \u2014 a marker of how much stress had accumulated over time.<\/p>\n A new study from the University of Hong Kong found that older adults who felt anxious on Mondays had higher levels of stress hormoes in their body up to two months later. Marco \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n Cortisol helps humans stay alert and respond to threats \u2014 but when it stays high for too long,<\/a> it can weaken the immune system and raise the risk of heart disease, anxiety and other chronic problems.<\/p>\n Monday anxiety was the only day linked to a lasting cortisol spike likely because the day carries a sense of \u201cuncertainty, danger or dread,\u201d said Modupe Akinola, a professor at Columbia Business School who studies stress and performance.<\/p>\n This effect showed up even in retirees, a sign that years of Monday stress may leave a lasting imprint on the brain and body.<\/p>\n The stress response is partly psychological \u2014 driven by our expectations \u2014 but shifts in sleep, eating and activity on weekends can also throw off the body\u2019s internal clock, making Monday morning feel even worse, Robert Sapolsky, a biologist and neuroscientist at Stanford University who studies stress, told The Post.<\/p>\n \u201cCortisol is not just reactive \u2014 a lot of what it does is anticipatory,\u201d said Sapolsky, author of \u201cWhy Zebras Don\u2019t Get Ulcers.\u201d \u201cExpectation of stress can drive cortisol levels even higher than the stress itself.\u201d<\/p>\n This effect showed up even in retirees, a sign that years of Monday stress may leave a lasting imprint on the brain and body. wayhome.studio \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n The jolt from weekend to weekday responsibilities makes Mondays feel harder<\/a>, noted Akinola.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is something effortful about Mondays \u2014 you have to get up, get dressed, get focused, deal with traffic, when over the weekend you typically don\u2019t deal with these things,\u201d Akinola said. \u201cAll of those extra demands that come on Monday make it feel like you may not have the resources to cope \u2026 and your body\u2019s stress system is telling you to get ready to battle.\u201d<\/p>\n