Manic Mondays Are No Longer a Myth

Monday mornings, when you may go to work or school, can be quite manic. The Bangles even wrote a song about it (It’s just another manic Monday / wish it were Sunday / cause that’s my fun day). And many people have a hard time waking up. Well, researchers actually have a name for this condition and it’s called the “Weekend Effect.”

So what’s that anyway?

People are in better moods, experience greater vitality and fewer aches and pains from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon reveals a study that will be published in the January 2010 issue of the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology. Why are people in better moods? Because people have the ability to chose their activities and can spend time with loved ones.

“Workers, even those with interesting, high status jobs, really are happier on the weekend,” says the study’s author, Richard Ryan, a professor of psychology at the University of Rochester. “Our findings highlight just how important free time is to an individual’s well-being,” he says . “Far from frivolous, the relatively unfettered time on weekends provides critical opportunities for bonding with others, exploring interests and relaxing–basic psychological needs that people should be careful not to crowd out with overwork.”

The study looked at 74 adults, ages 18 to 62, who worked at least 30 hours per week. No matter their lifestyles or economic status, workers were happier on the weekends, not manic Mondays.

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