2013-02-06-Women-Perhaps-you-should-stay-home-on-Wednesdays_ST_U.xml
^$^It's Wednesday, and I'm looking around the office. At the women, mainly. Do I notice anything different?
Maybe, but I'm certainly not going to report it here.
New research shows that a certain number of women find Wednesdays the most stressful day of the week.
And it gets worse. The study says these women look their oldest at 3:30 every Wednesday afternoon.
Why? It's when energy levels plummet, work stress is at a peak, and the effects of weekend late nights finally kick in.
In fact, almost half of all women polled "indulge" on weekends. Perhaps overindulge. I know. Shocking.
Evidently, the weekend booze takes a few days to show up on the face, and the fact that Monday often comes with a sleepless night because of the booze, well, it's not a pretty picture.
Welcome to Wednesday. Put a bag on your head.
The study reports that a quarter of the women also feel stress several times a week, but Wednesdays are the worst. One in five admit they work through their lunch hour on Wednesdays. Not a good thing.
Why? Because of what do they do next: They have a snack. Sugar, mostly, all in an effort to boost their energy. Is that Maria's hand in the candy jar over on Lorena's desk? Can't see from here. Wouldn't say if I could.
The good news is it's not all bad news.
The study reports that Thursday is the day women are most likely to have sex. And with sex comes a glow and a happier, more upbeat feeling, which makes Friday the best-feeling day of the week.
And then comes the weekend, and the cycle begins again.
The study, which was, not too surprisingly, conducted for a tanning/skin care brand, says its products can solve a lot of Wednesday's problems.
One senses that fake tans might start appearing around the newsroom. Orange is, after all, the hot new color.
I have a better idea. I say all my female colleagues go to a four-day workweek. Eliminate Wednesdays completely, go home early on Thursdays (wink), and have a long, "happy" lunch on Friday.
As they say these days, it's a plan.
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