In a recent study published in the "PLOS Digital Health Journal," scientists found that people tend to feel the worst at 5 am, no matter what time they wake up. The lead author, Benjamin Shapiro, who is a psychiatrist at Dartmouth Health, explained that mood naturally goes down in the morning and goes up in the evening, even if people have had enough sleep.
The study involved looking at the behaviors of 2,602 medical interns over two years. Researchers used wearable health tracking devices to monitor their heart rate, how much they walked, their sleep patterns, and how they felt each day. They discovered that people felt the least happy at 5 am and the happiest at 5 pm.
Danny Forger, a math professor at the U-M Medical School and senior author of the study, said that this shows how much our body's internal clock affects our mood. He also mentioned that as people stay awake longer, their mood tends to get worse, especially if they're not getting enough sleep.
However, the scientists also noted some limitations in their research. The study was done in a controlled environment and only looked at a small group of people. This means that there could be other factors, like social interactions and personal differences, that weren't considered.
Despite these limitations, the study suggests that using wearable technology, like Fitbit, could help us understand more about mental health and how it changes throughout the day.
