A new study from University College London has found that people are happiest in the morning, with their mood gradually declining throughout the day. Researchers analyzed data from over 49,000 adults between March 2020 and March 2022, revealing a clear pattern in daily well-being.
The study, published in BMJ Mental Health and reported by Sky News, is one of the most comprehensive of its kind.
Psychologist Björn Hedensjö believes the findings make perfect sense.
According to him, mornings are when we focus on activity and structure, which can boost our sense of purpose.
"In the morning, it's all about starting the day. In the evening, however, when we have more time to think, we sometimes tend to drift into darker thoughts," he explained on the show Efter Fem.
While the study shows that, on average, people feel happier in the morning, there are individual differences. Some people wake up energized and motivated, while others start the day tired and irritable.
Hedensjö suggests that this is largely genetic, as sleep-wake rhythms tend to run in families.
Dr. Feifei Bu, one of the lead researchers, cautions that the time of day when participants answered the survey could have influenced the findings. People who are naturally happier in the morning may have been more likely to participate early in the day.
More research is needed to confirm whether morning happiness is a universal trend or simply a reflection of when participants took the survey.
