Washington, Jan 12 (IANS) ‘Weekend effects’ are magically uplifting for working people. They experience better moods, greater vitality and fewer aches and pains - from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon, says the first mood-based study.
The effect is largely associated with the freedom to choose one’s activities and the opportunity to spend time with loved ones, say researchers.

“Workers, even those with interesting, high status jobs, really are happier on the weekend,” says study author Richard Ryan, psychology professor at the University of Rochester (UR).

“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,” Ryan cautions.

The study tracked the moods of 74 adults, aged 18 to 62, who worked at least 30 hours per week. For three weeks, they were paged randomly three times daily, once in the morning, the afternoon and the evening.

At each page, participants completed a brief questionnaire describing the activity in which they were engaged and, using a seven-point scale, they rated their positive feelings like happiness, joy, and pleasure as well as negative feelings of anxiety, anger, and depression.

Physical symptoms of stress, such as headaches, digestive problems, respiratory ills, or low energy, also were noted.

The results demonstrated that men and women alike consistently feel better mentally and physically on the weekend, regardless of how much money they make, how many hours they work, and how educated they happen to be, said an UR release.

The weekend effect study was co-authored by professors of psychology Jessey Bernstein and Kirk Warren Brown, from McGill and Virginia Commonwealth Universities.

The findings are slated for publication this month in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology.