El lunes no se scapegoa: por qué el estrés de la semana tiene roots hormonales

Sunday night. The alarm is set, the clothes are ready and the mind is already running through Monday's obligations. For many people, that return to routine brings a familiar discomfort: the stomach tightens, sleep becomes difficult and the week seems to start with a heavier burden. A study led by researchers at the University of Hong Kong offers a biological explanation for this sensation, although it does not mean that every Monday is the same for everyone.

The team analyzed cortisol in hair samples from more than 3,500 adults. People who reported feeling anxious on Mondays had, on average, 23 percent more cortisol than those who experienced stress on other days. The striking part of the finding is that the pattern was also reported by retirees and people without fixed work schedules, which suggests that the response cannot be attributed exclusively to employment.

A mind that prepares before Monday arrives

Cortisol is a hormone that prepares the body to respond to a perceived demand. Psychologist Flavio Calvo (MN 66.869) explained that this response is built through experience: "Nuestra mente aprende por asociación y anticipación. Si durante mucho tiempo el comienzo de semana quedó ligado a exigencias o malestar, el organismo puede prepararse antes de enfrentar una demanda concreta." In other words, the body may react to the expectation of difficulty before any concrete difficulty occurs.

Agustina De Nardo (MN 88.927), from INECO's Cognitive Psychotherapy team, places the issue in the transition between two rhythms. After the weekend, returning to structured schedules can trigger what specialists call anticipatory anxiety. Thinking about a difficult meeting or a long list of tasks may be enough to cause muscular tension or sleep problems, even though nothing has happened yet. "Podemos terminar experimentando hoy el malestar de situaciones que todavía no ocurrieron", warned De Nardo.

“Podemos terminar experimentando hoy el malestar de situaciones que todavía no ocurrieron.”Agustina De Nardo, del equipo de Psicoterapia Cognitiva de INECO

Psychiatrist Soledad Conti (MN 130.007) clarified that anticipatory anxiety is not, by itself, a diagnosis. It deserves attention when worry is difficult to interrupt, affects sleep or concentration, or prevents people from enjoying themselves even after their obligations have ended. Burnout, she added, is a different category: it is associated with chronic work-related stress and may involve persistent exhaustion, mental distancing and a reduced sense of professional efficacy.

How to distribute the discomfort across the week

• Break large Monday demands into smaller, manageable tasks instead of keeping the entire week in view.
• Set a specific time to leave the weekend behind and use it to plan the first steps of the week.
• If anticipatory anxiety interferes with sleep or concentration, seek professional evaluation instead of waiting for the situation to worsen.
• Treat the Monday discomfort as a signal to review the routine, not as a personal failure.

The rejection of Mondays is not universal. Psychologist Cintia Pereira (MN 41.905), from Hospital Italiano, recalled that not everyone experiences the same pattern, and the material provided does not allow us to add further details about her perspective. The central point is that the anxiety reported on Mondays has a measurable hormonal correlate, but its meaning and intensity still depend on each person's history, routine and coping resources.

The study therefore offers a more precise way of understanding an old complaint: the Sunday-night discomfort is not merely a bad attitude or an exaggerated reaction. It can reflect an organism that has learned to anticipate demands. And, as with many human problems, recognizing that mechanism is the first step toward changing it. The alarm still rings on Monday, but the week does not have to begin with everything settled at once.