El cortisol del lunes: por qué la tensión aparece antes de que empiece la rutina

Es domingo por la tarde y la cabeza ya está en el lunes. Perhaps appears aefa. La bandeja de entrada accumulates, la reunión pendiente returns to the memory and the sleep gets interrupted. Even without a fixed schedule, the anticipation of a new week can generate a physical sensation of tension. This is not merely a bad mood: a study by researchers at the University of Hong Kong found a hormonal pattern associated with the anxiety that appears at the beginning of the week.

The research team analyzed cortisol in hair samples from more than 3,500 adults. Those who reported feeling anxious on Mondays had, on average, 23 percent more cortisol than people who experienced stress on other days. The finding did not remain confined to workers: it was also observed in retirees and people without fixed working hours. Cortisol is the hormone that helps the body prepare to respond to a perceived demand, whether that demand is a meeting, a long list of tasks or the return to a structured routine.

A learned response before the week begins

For psychologist Flavio Calvo, the mechanism 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”, he explained. In other words, the body can react before there is an actual event to face: the anticipation itself becomes enough to trigger muscular tension, difficulty falling asleep or the feeling that Monday has already started.

Agustina De Nardo, from the Cognitive Psychotherapy team at INECO, described this as a transition between two rhythms. After the weekend, the return to scheduled obligations activates what specialists call anticipatory anxiety. Thinking about a difficult meeting or an overwhelming list of tasks may be enough to cause discomfort 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

Psychiatrist Soledad Conti clarified that anticipatory anxiety is not, by itself, a diagnosis. It deserves attention when worry is hard to interrupt, affects sleep or concentration, or prevents people from enjoying themselves even after their obligations are over. She distinguished it from burnout, which is a different category linked to chronic work-related stress. Burnout can show up as persistent exhaustion, mental distancing and a reduced sense of professional effectiveness.

How to distribute the discomfort across the week

The possibility of moderating the response lies in not concentrating all the pressure on Monday. The findings do not imply that the rejection of Mondays is universal, nor that every person who feels tired on Sunday has a disorder. They point to a common human reaction that can be understood and, within certain limits, organized.

• Trying not to leave the entire week's demands in mind for Sunday afternoon.
• Breaking tasks into smaller, scheduled steps instead of facing them as one long list.
• Protecting sleep and using the final days of the weekend to reduce the contrast with Monday's routine.
• Paying attention to warning signs when worry becomes persistent, disrupts sleep or interferes with concentration.
• If the discomfort is constant or affects daily life, seeking professional evaluation to distinguish anticipatory anxiety from other conditions.

Camila Aguilar, Sociedad y vida