In general, people tend to be in the best frame of mind in the morning and in the worst around midnight, finds a British study published in the journal _BMJ Mental Health_.
To determine whether our mental wellbeing varies with the time of day, day of the week, season and year, researchers analysed data from nearly one million survey responses from 49,218 participants over two years.
People generally woke up in the morning feeling their best, reporting the lowest levels of depression, anxiety and loneliness, along with the highest levels of happiness, life satisfaction, and a sense of worth, while feeling their worst around midnight.
The influence of the day of the week was less clear-cut. Happiness, life satisfaction and feelings of worth were slightly higher on Mondays and Fridays compared with Sundays. Happiness was also higher on Tuesdays. There was no evidence that loneliness varied across different days of the week.
However, there was clear evidence that seasons can influence mood. People tended to experience higher levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms and loneliness, and lower levels of happiness, life satisfaction and feeling that life was worthwhile in the winter compared with other seasons.
Overall, mental health and wellbeing were best in the summer across all outcomes.