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By Amy Norton
NEW YORK, Mar 14 (Reuters Health) - While on-the-job stress is a well known and widely felt presence, new research suggests that even thinking about Monday morning may send people's stress hormones upward.
In a study of 75 men and women, UK researchers found that the participants showed steeper increases in the stress hormone cortisol on workday mornings than on days off. Since this rise occurred within 30 minutes of waking up, the mere "anticipation" of work may trigger job-related stress, according to Dr. Andrew Steptoe and his colleagues at University College London.
Steptoe presented his team's findings last week in Monterey, California, at the annual meeting of the American Psychosomatic Society.
Cortisol levels naturally wax and wane over the course of a day, peaking in the morning and declining through the afternoon and morning. The hormone plays a key role in regulating metabolism, blood pressure and cardiovascular function, and it suppresses immune system activity. Cortisol also helps the body respond to stress, mobilizing the body and preparing it for vigorous activity.
But excessive cortisol levels are believed to wear on the heart, brain, metabolism and other bodily functions. That is why it is important to study the effects of everyday stress on cortisol concentrations, Steptoe told Reuters Health.
In the study, he and his colleagues measured cortisol levels in the participants' saliva. Samples were taken immediately upon waking, 30 minutes after waking, and then every 2 hours until late evening. Regardless of the day, the participants' cortisol levels were highest in the morning. However, the sharpest increase occurred 30 minutes after waking on workdays.
What was most interesting in these findings, Steptoe said, was that cortisol levels during the rest of the workday were similar to those on days off. Earlier research, he noted, has shown similar results, with some evidence suggesting the early-morning increase in cortisol is greatest among people with high job stress.
"The cortisol rise," Steptoe said, "may be a biological marker of our preparation for the working day, and for the demands we are about to confront."
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