Psychology: Are you particularly stressed on Mondays? That can have fatal consequences

Psychology: Are you particularly stressed on Mondays? That can have fatal consequences

Monday stress is widespread and cannot be underestimated. If you start the week with a high stress level, you should know these health risks.

How nice it would be to just be able to do Sunday things on Sundays. Walking, keeping coffee, watching crime thrillers and then falling asleep peacefully. But on Sundays on Sundays, Monday scratches the door again. Instead of relaxing, you are already from the weekend with one leg and back in the office. The thoughts revolve around the long to-do list, the pressure in the chest increases.

Monday stress is not a marketing gag, but a scientific fact. Researchers at the University of Hong Kong have examined the data of 3500 people that are 50 years and older and have been able to determine a significant increase in stress hormones in hair samples. According to this, the cortisol values were 23 percent higher for Monday stresses than in people who felt stressed on other days of the week.

Monday stress-if the hormones get out of control

What makes this physical reaction to the beginning of the week particularly uncomfortable is their persistence. Accordingly, the cortisol level did not drop during the week, but remained increased for up to two months. The reason for this is probably a noticeable incorrect control of the Hypothalamus-Hypophysen-Gebenreieren-axis (HPA axis), which is responsible for regulating the stress hormones.

According to the scientists, this physical stress response could also be the explanation for an already known Monday phenomenon: heart problems. A meta -analysis pointed out 20 years ago that the likelihood of suffering a heart attack or sudden cardiac death on a Monday is increased by 19 percent. Permanently increased cortisol values, such as the Hong Kong scientists, are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Anyone who now believes that a sabbatical or a termination is the way out of the Montday cortisol high will be surprised. The researchers report that they have “not found any evidence that the Monday effect was greater than the non-employed people at the moment”. Rather, the data indicate that the stress reaction continues to exist even after the end of employment, since increased stress values could also be demonstrated in pensioners. It remains to be seen whether this is the reverberation from working life or completely different factors.

Source: Stern

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