Sleep on it - you really are likely to feel better about life in the morning, say researchers

Nightmare day at work? Date stand you up? Don't worry, things really will seem better in the morning.

- Andrew Gregory

In the most comprehensive study of its kind, scientists have found that generally, the world feels brighter when you wake up.

People start the day in the best frame of mind but end in the worst, at about midnight, the findings suggest, with the day of the week and the season also playing a part.

Mental health also tends to be more varied at weekends but steadier during the week, according to the study led by University College London.

"Generally, things do seem better in the morning," the researchers concluded. Their findings were published in the journal BMJ Mental Health.

Mental health and wellbeing are dynamic in nature, and subject to change over both short and long periods. Few studies have looked at how they might change over the course of the day, and those that have done have tended to look at particular or very small groups of people.

Scientists wanted to explore whether time of day was associated with variations in mental health, happiness, life satisfaction, a sense of life being worthwhile and loneliness. They also wanted to find out if these associations varied by day, season or year.