RESEARCHERS SAY THE BEST TIME OF THE DAY IS 5:00, AND ALSO THE WORST

Saying it’s the “dawn of a new day” is sort of a freeing, hopeful expression, but let’s be honest, for a lot of people, the WORST part of the day is their first conscious moment:  Right when the alarm clock goes off.

Now science is backing that up.  There’s a new study out, where researchers say they’ve found that 5:00 A.M. is officially the worst time of the day, based on mood, circadian clock, and other factors.

And 5:00 P.M. is the BEST time of the day, which makes sense because that’s when a lot of people are leaving work.  But interestingly, this wasn’t directly tied to waking up and clocking out.

They say people experience their lowest mood at 5:00 A.M., regardless of when they wake up, and they’re the cheeriest at 5:00 P.M., no matter what their work hours are.

They did say that sleep deprivation can have a significant, negative impact on mood, but the 5:00 A.M. / 5:00 P.M. thing is based on a typical day.  (They did not address if Daylight Saving Time changes have any effect.)