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In A Nutshell<\/strong><\/p>\n HONG KONG \u2014<\/strong> Ever feel a sense of dread as Sunday turns into Monday? New research suggests that anxiety felt at the start of the workweek may not simply fade with the passing of the day \u2014 it could be linked to stress hormone patterns that persist in the body for up to three months.<\/p>\n A study involving more than 3,500 older adults in England found that people who reported feeling anxious<\/a> specifically on Mondays had significantly higher levels of cortisol (the body\u2019s primary stress hormone) in hair samples collected one to two months later. At the highest levels of the stress hormone distribution, individuals who felt anxious on Mondays showed approximately 23 percent higher cortisol than those who felt anxious on other days.<\/p>\n While it has long been known that stress<\/a> can affect physical health, these findings suggest that Monday anxiety may have a unique association with the body\u2019s stress response. The researchers found that this pattern did not appear for anxiety reported on other days of the week.<\/p>\n Why Monday Stress May Matter More<\/p>\n Elevated cortisol levels over time are linked to increased risk for cardiovascular disease<\/a>, high blood pressure<\/a>, diabetes<\/a>, and weakened immune function<\/a>. The study references prior research showing that heart attacks<\/a> and sudden cardiac deaths occur about 19 percent more often on Mondays than on other days, a phenomenon commonly known as the \u201cMonday effect.\u201d<\/p>\n Importantly, the study observed that this effect appeared both in people who were still working and those who had retired. The researchers found no evidence that the pattern weakened among those no longer in the workforce, suggesting that the biological impact of Monday anxiety may persist even when the immediate source of work-related stress is removed.<\/p>\n Previous studies have demonstrated that people tend to report<\/a> higher stress and anxiety on Mondays and that cardiovascular events often increase at the beginning of the week. However, this research, published in the Journal of Affective Disorders<\/a>, is among the first to show a clear link between Monday anxiety and a measurable biological stress marker that can be traced for months.<\/p>\n It turns out that Monday anxiety can do more than just ruin the start of the work week. (Photo by Denys Bohdanov on Shutterstock)<\/p>\n How the Study Linked Monday Anxiety to Higher Cortisol<\/p>\n The research team, led by Dr. Tarani Chandola of the University of Hong Kong, analyzed data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, which includes adults aged 50 and older. Participants were asked, \u201cOverall, how anxious did you feel yesterday?\u201d on a scale from 0 to 10, and recorded what day of the week \u201cyesterday\u201d referred to.<\/p>\n Hair samples were then collected one to two months later from the back of each participant\u2019s head. Because human hair grows at an average rate of about one centimeter per month, the 2\u20133 centimeter samples provided a retrospective record of stress hormone production over the previous two to three months. The hair was analyzed for both cortisol and cortisone using high-performance laboratory methods that allow researchers to assess long-term patterns, rather than just momentary spikes.<\/p>\n When the results were examined, the researchers found that Monday anxiety was strongly linked to higher long-term cortisol levels.<\/a> No similar association was found for anxiety reported on other days.<\/p>\n Why Stress Effects May Linger Beyond the Workweek<\/p>\n To understand why Monday anxiety may have this unique link<\/a>, the researchers used advanced statistical methods to break down the data. They found that while a portion of the effect was explained by the fact that more people tend to feel anxious on Mondays, about three-quarters of the difference remained unexplained by typical factors such as age, sex, or general anxiety. This suggests that for some people, the stress linked with Monday anxiety may reflect a deeper pattern that the body does not easily adapt to.<\/p>\n The study authors note that \u201cthe cumulative life course effects of feeling anxious<\/a> on Monday, to which people do not adapt, suggests the need to identify why some people do not adapt to the Monday effect, while others are more resilient.\u201d<\/p>\n High levels of cortisol are linked to (Photo by Jarun Ontakrai on Shutterstock)<\/p>\n What This Monday Anxiety Research Means for Your Health<\/p>\n\n
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