A new study indicates that everyday changes in the weather could affect your mental well-being, according to HealthDay.
Researchers from the University of East Anglia examined whether daily weather conditions are associated with the number of people contacting the UK's healthcare system for mental health concerns.
Millions of contacts
The study, published in Frontiers in Psychiatry, is based on more than 4.6 million contacts with emergency departments, out-of-hours GP services, and the NHS telephone advice service in England between 2014 and 2022.
The data were compared with weather records from the same period.
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The findings showed that more people sought help when temperatures rose to around 18°C (64°F). At the same time, there were more contacts on days with fewer hours of sunshine.
By contrast, the researchers found no clear link between rainfall and the number of people seeking help.
Could help healthcare planning
The contacts included cases involving anxiety, depression, sleep problems, self-harm, and alcohol-related issues.
The researchers emphasize that the study identifies an association rather than proving that weather directly causes mental health problems.
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However, the findings suggest that understanding the impact of weather could help healthcare services better plan their capacity.
The study's main conclusion is that not only extreme weather, but also ordinary changes in temperature and sunlight, may be linked to when people seek help for mental health problems.
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