iiiForget the Monday blues. A study has found that Wednesday is the killjoy of the week.
Two applied mathematicians from the University of Vermont, United States, gathered information from more than 2.4 millions blogs and status entries on popular social networking platforms such as Twitter over four years. To their surprise, they found that Monday came just after Sunday and Saturday on the happiness chart.
The scientists think we tend to be still cheerful from the weekend on Monday but by Wednesday that has worn off, making it the unhappiest day of the week.
To find out what the situation is in Hong Kong, Young Post cub reporters set out to discover which day youngsters here believe is most depressing.
The results suggest that, to our interviewees, a miserable day is linked to heavy schoolwork or school itself. To diminish the upsetting factors, some suggested making good use of distractions and breaks while others believe getting organised can help make the school day less of a chore. More practical methods include a good sleep and a big, healthy breakfast.
But it was 16-year-old Lyndsay Yiu from Shatin College who came up with the perfect solution to school day blues: a four-day school week.
'If we could have a holiday on Wednesday, this would alleviate a lot of the stress and anxiety,' says Lyndsay.
Unfortunately, the Education Bureau has no plans to shorten the school week in the near future. You might keep the hope alive in your payers, but in the meantime, you may as well make the most of school, as William Cai, 16, of Shatin College does.
'I try not to have a pessimistic view of school so that I won't have negative feelings about Sunday being the last day of the weekend,' he said.
Why not take William's advice? School days need not be that bad - and Young Post is always around to cheer you up.
Sophia Pitman, 7
Australian International School
Monday, because it means going to school, waking up early.
I eat snacks and brighten up my day by squeezing in some games. I enjoy spending time with my friends and invite them over.
Jason Ng, 13
St Stephen's College
Sundays, because the weekend is almost over, and you know that you have to wake up early and go to school.
There's nothing you can do except try to enjoy the day with the family.
Kassandra Chiu, 15
King George V School
Tuesdays, because the feel-good factor of the weekend has already worn off. It's also, apart from Monday, the day with the longest to wait until the weekend. I try to cheer myself up with friends, a jam session or by playing some video games.
Christopher Matthew Chung, 12
French International School
Tuesday, because I have to spend longer at school than on the other days.
I like swimming and canoeing. I think it would be a great idea to have them at school to make Tuesdays more interesting,
Vanessa Huen Wing-yu, 14
St Francis Canossian College
Any school day, because I have to study very hard on school days.
To make the long days of the school week more bearable, I chat and play with my friends.
Ainslie Lipert, 12
YMCA of Hong Kong Christian College
Monday because it is the first day of the long week at school, and I feel sleepy and not focused.
I try to improve my Mondays by playing basketball or joining extra-curricular activities at school.
Elaine Ngan, 17
St Paul's Convent School
Friday, because I have tutorials all afternoon and receive the most homework. I can't even look forward to the weekend. I try to get everything organised. I draw up a timetable and a "to-do list".
Karen Lau, 17
St Paul's Convent School
Tuesday, because after a long day of school, I have to attend a tutorial class and then get back to my athletics training at school.
I force myself to sleep earlier on Monday night and save energy for the up-coming challenges.
Kathy Yip, 19
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Sunday because I have to prepare for the tests and assignments in the following week.
I prepare my work early so I can spare more time on Sunday to relax and enjoy myself.
Additional reporting by junior reporters Samantha Borje, Howard Chan, Selina Cheng, Joseph Ho, Ho Ting-yu, Resa Ng, Dhruv Singh, Wong Hok-yan, Janice Yip, Nicholas Yiu and Amanda Yu.