A recent study from University College London (UCL) has uncovered some interesting facts about mental health and the time of day. The research shows that people usually feel better in the morning, but their mood tends to drop as the day goes on, hitting its lowest point around midnight. This study is important because it looks closely at how mental health changes throughout the day, taking into account things like what day it is and the different seasons.

The researchers wanted to find out how different times of day affect people’s mental health, including their happiness, life satisfaction, and feelings of loneliness. They used data from the UCL Covid-19 social study, which collected nearly one million responses from about 50,000 adults over two years. Participants answered questions about how they felt, which helped the researchers understand trends in mental health based on the time of day.

The study found that people generally felt happier and more satisfied with life on Mondays and Fridays compared to Sundays, with Tuesdays also showing higher happiness levels. However, there were no big differences in feelings of loneliness throughout the week. The researchers also noticed that people felt less depressed and happier during spring, summer, and autumn than in winter.

Although the study provided a lot of information, the researchers pointed out that it was observational and couldn’t prove cause and effect. They noted that when participants took the surveys might have affected the results. For example, people who felt good in the morning might have been more likely to fill out the survey at that time. Dr. Feifei Bu, one of the researchers, mentioned that if these patterns are confirmed, mental health services could improve by considering the time of day when people need help, especially during late-night hours when they might be feeling their worst.

Original news source: Scientists find that things really do seem better in the morning (The Guardian)

🎧 Listen:

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📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– CHARADES
Instructions: Divide the class into two teams. Each team takes turns acting out different emotions related to mental health (e.g., happiness, loneliness, sadness) without speaking, while the other team guesses the emotion. This will encourage students to think about the emotional aspects discussed in the article.

– OPINION POLL
Instructions: Create a set of statements based on the article’s findings (e.g., “People are happier in the morning than at night”). Have students move to different sides of the room based on whether they agree or disagree. After the movement, facilitate a discussion where students explain their opinions.

– MIND MAP
Instructions: On a large piece of paper or a whiteboard, write “Mental Health Throughout the Day” in the center. Have students work in small groups to brainstorm and add related concepts, findings, and ideas from the article, creating a visual representation of the information.

– HEADLINE CREATION
Instructions: Ask students to create catchy headlines for the article based on its main findings. They can work individually or in pairs, and then share their headlines with the class. This will help them practice summarizing and capturing the essence of the article.

– TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE
Instructions: Each student must come up with three statements about the article’s content, two of which are true and one that is false. Students will share their statements with a partner who will guess which is the lie. This activity encourages critical thinking and reinforces comprehension of the article.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What did the study from University College London aim to discover about mental health?

2. How did people’s moods change throughout the day according to the study?

3. Which days of the week did people report feeling happier and more satisfied with life?

4. What seasons did the study find people felt less depressed and happier in?

5. Why did the researchers mention that the study was observational?

6. How might the timing of when participants took the surveys affect the study’s results?

7. What suggestion did Dr. Feifei Bu make regarding mental health services based on the study’s findings?

8. Why is it important to consider how mental health changes throughout the day, according to the researchers?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A recent (1)______ from University College (2)______ (UCL) has uncovered some interesting facts about mental health and the time of day. The research (3)______ that people usually feel better in the (4)______, but their mood tends to drop as the day goes on, hitting its lowest point around midnight. This study is important because it looks closely at how mental health changes throughout the day, taking into account things like what day it is and the different seasons.

The researchers wanted to find out how different times of day affect people’s mental (5)______, including their happiness, life satisfaction, and feelings of (6)______. They used data from the UCL (7)______ social study, which collected nearly one million responses from about 50,000 adults over two years. (8)______ answered questions about how they felt, which helped the researchers understand trends in mental health based on the time of day.

The study found that people generally felt (9)______ and more satisfied with life on Mondays and Fridays compared to Sundays, with Tuesdays also showing higher happiness (10)______. However, there were no big differences in feelings of loneliness throughout the week. The researchers also noticed that people felt less depressed and happier during spring, summer, and (11)______ than in winter.

Although the study provided a lot of information, the researchers pointed out that it was (12)______ and couldn’t prove cause and effect. They noted that when participants took the surveys might have affected the results. For (13)______, people who felt good in the morning might have been more likely to fill out the survey at that time. Dr. Feifei Bu, one of the researchers, mentioned that if these patterns are confirmed, (14)______ health (15)______ could (16)______ by considering the time of day when people need help, especially during late-night hours when they might be feeling their worst.
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💬 Discussion Questions:

Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.

1. What is your favorite time of day, and why do you think you like it more than others?
2. How would you feel if you had to wake up very early every day?
3. Do you think your mood changes throughout the day? Why or why not?
4. What is a typical way you try to boost your mood when you’re feeling down?
5. How do you feel about Mondays? Do you agree that they can be happier than Sundays?
6. Why do you think people might feel happier in spring and summer compared to winter?
7. Do you like to spend time outdoors during different seasons? How does it affect your mood?
8. How would you feel if you had to take a survey about your feelings every day?
9. Do you think it’s important for mental health services to consider the time of day? Why or why not?
10. What is a time when you felt really happy? What do you think caused that feeling?
11. How do you usually handle feelings of loneliness?
12. Do you think social media affects how we feel about ourselves? Why or why not?
13. How would you feel if you had to stay up late every night?
14. Do you think people are more honest when they fill out surveys about their feelings in the morning? Why?
15. What is one thing you do to improve your mental health during tough times?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. uncovered
2. mood
3. satisfaction
4. loneliness
5. responses
6. trends
7. observational
8. participants
9. surveys
10. patterns
11. confirmed
12. improve
13. considering
14. affect
15. especially

Meanings:
(A) A person’s emotional state or feelings at a particular time
(B) To have an influence on something or someone
(C) To make something better or more effective
(D) Proven to be true or correct
(E) The feeling of being pleased or content with something
(F) General directions or movements in data over time
(G) Found out or discovered something that was hidden
(H) Based on watching and recording events without changing them
(I) People who take part in an activity or study
(J) Regular and repeated ways in which something happens
(K) Thinking about something when making a decision
(L) More than usual; particularly or notably
(M) Questionnaires used to gather information from people
(N) The feeling of being alone or isolated
(O) Answers or replies to questions
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What university conducted the study on mental health and the time of day?
(a) Harvard University
(b) Stanford University
(c) University College London
(d) Oxford University

2. What time of day do people generally feel their mood is at its lowest according to the study?
(a) Midnight
(b) Morning
(c) Afternoon
(d) Evening

3. Which days of the week did the study find people felt happier and more satisfied with life?
(a) Wednesdays and Thursdays
(b) Mondays and Fridays
(c) Saturdays and Sundays
(d) Tuesdays and Wednesdays

4. What season did the study indicate people felt less depressed?
(a) Spring
(b) Winter
(c) Summer
(d) Autumn

5. How many responses were collected in the UCL Covid-19 social study?
(a) About 500,000
(b) Over two million
(c) Nearly one million
(d) Around 250,000

6. What did the researchers note could have affected the results of the study?
(a) The age of participants
(b) The location of participants
(c) The type of questions asked
(d) When participants took the surveys

7. Which feeling showed no significant differences throughout the week according to the study?
(a) Happiness
(b) Feelings of loneliness
(c) Life satisfaction
(d) Feelings of depression

8. What did Dr. Feifei Bu suggest could improve mental health services?
(a) Offering more online surveys
(b) Increasing the number of participants
(c) Focusing on winter months only
(d) Considering the time of day when people need help

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. The lowest point for people’s mood is around noon.
2. People felt happier and more satisfied with life on Mondays and Fridays compared to Sundays.
3. The researchers suggested that mental health services could improve by considering the time of day when people might need help.
4. The researchers used data from the UCL Covid-19 social study, which included nearly one million responses.
5. People generally feel worse in the morning and their mood improves as the day goes on.
6. A study from University College London did not look at how mental health changes throughout the day.
7. Participants reported their feelings, which helped the researchers identify trends in mental health.
8. Feelings of loneliness varied greatly throughout the week.
Go to answers ⇩

📝 Write a Summary:

Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.
Check your writing now with the best free AI for English writing!

Writing Questions:

Answer the following questions. Write as much as you can for each answer.
Check your answers with our free English writing assistant!

1. What did the study from University College London find about people’s mood throughout the day?
2. How did the researchers gather information about people’s mental health in their study?
3. On which days of the week did people report feeling happier, according to the study?
4. What seasonal changes did the study observe in people’s mental health?
5. Why do the researchers believe it is important to consider the time of day when providing mental health services?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What did the study from University College London aim to discover about mental health?
The study aimed to discover how different times of day affect people’s mental health, including their happiness, life satisfaction, and feelings of loneliness.

2. How did people’s moods change throughout the day according to the study?
People usually felt better in the morning, but their mood tended to drop as the day went on, hitting its lowest point around midnight.

3. Which days of the week did people report feeling happier and more satisfied with life?
People reported feeling happier and more satisfied with life on Mondays and Fridays, with Tuesdays also showing higher happiness levels compared to Sundays.

4. What seasons did the study find people felt less depressed and happier in?
The study found that people felt less depressed and happier during spring, summer, and autumn than in winter.

5. Why did the researchers mention that the study was observational?
The researchers mentioned that the study was observational because it couldn’t prove cause and effect, meaning it couldn’t definitively show that one thing caused another.

6. How might the timing of when participants took the surveys affect the study’s results?
The timing might affect the results because people who felt good in the morning might have been more likely to fill out the survey at that time, leading to potentially biased results.

7. What suggestion did Dr. Feifei Bu make regarding mental health services based on the study’s findings?
Dr. Feifei Bu suggested that mental health services could improve by considering the time of day when people need help, especially during late-night hours when they might be feeling their worst.

8. Why is it important to consider how mental health changes throughout the day, according to the researchers?
It’s important to consider these changes because understanding when people feel their best or worst could help improve mental health services and support for those in need.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) study
(2) London
(3) shows
(4) morning
(5) health
(6) loneliness
(7) Covid-19
(8) Participants
(9) happier
(10) levels
(11) autumn
(12) observational
(13) example
(14) mental
(15) services
(16) improve
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. uncovered
Answer: (G) Found out or discovered something that was hidden

2. mood
Answer: (A) A person’s emotional state or feelings at a particular time

3. satisfaction
Answer: (E) The feeling of being pleased or content with something

4. loneliness
Answer: (N) The feeling of being alone or isolated

5. responses
Answer: (O) Answers or replies to questions

6. trends
Answer: (F) General directions or movements in data over time

7. observational
Answer: (H) Based on watching and recording events without changing them

8. participants
Answer: (I) People who take part in an activity or study

9. surveys
Answer: (M) Questionnaires used to gather information from people

10. patterns
Answer: (J) Regular and repeated ways in which something happens

11. confirmed
Answer: (D) Proven to be true or correct

12. improve
Answer: (C) To make something better or more effective

13. considering
Answer: (K) Thinking about something when making a decision

14. affect
Answer: (B) To have an influence on something or someone

15. especially
Answer: (L) More than usual; particularly or notably
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What university conducted the study on mental health and the time of day?
Answer: (c) University College London

2. What time of day do people generally feel their mood is at its lowest according to the study?
Answer: (a) Midnight

3. Which days of the week did the study find people felt happier and more satisfied with life?
Answer: (b) Mondays and Fridays

4. What season did the study indicate people felt less depressed?
Answer: (a) Spring

5. How many responses were collected in the UCL Covid-19 social study?
Answer: (c) Nearly one million

6. What did the researchers note could have affected the results of the study?
Answer: (d) When participants took the surveys

7. Which feeling showed no significant differences throughout the week according to the study?
Answer: (b) Feelings of loneliness

8. What did Dr. Feifei Bu suggest could improve mental health services?
Answer: (d) Considering the time of day when people need help
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. The lowest point for people’s mood is around noon. (Answer: False)
2. People felt happier and more satisfied with life on Mondays and Fridays compared to Sundays. (Answer: True)
3. The researchers suggested that mental health services could improve by considering the time of day when people might need help. (Answer: True)
4. The researchers used data from the UCL Covid-19 social study, which included nearly one million responses. (Answer: True)
5. People generally feel worse in the morning and their mood improves as the day goes on. (Answer: False)
6. A study from University College London did not look at how mental health changes throughout the day. (Answer: False)
7. Participants reported their feelings, which helped the researchers identify trends in mental health. (Answer: True)
8. Feelings of loneliness varied greatly throughout the week. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧