Fewer hours of sunshine were linked to more mental health-related health care contacts in a large study of England’s National Health Service data, StudyFinds reported.
The study analyzed about 4.6 million unscheduled mental health-related health care contacts across England from January 2014 through December 2022.
The findings were published in the journal “Frontiers in Psychiatry,” according to StudyFinds.
Researchers looked at emergency department visits, NHS 111 calls, and after-hours general practitioner contacts. NHS 111 is a medical advice phone line in England.
The clearest weather signal was sunshine.
Compared with days with 10 hours of sunshine, days with almost no sun were associated with higher rates of mental health-related contacts, according to StudyFinds.
The increase was about six percent for NHS 111 calls and after-hours GP contacts. Emergency department visits rose by about four percent, though that link was less clear.
Fewer sunshine hours were also linked to more after-hours GP and emergency department contacts for anxiety and depression.
Researchers said the study measured health care contacts, not confirmed diagnoses. That means the data shows when people sought help, not necessarily whether mental health conditions became more common.
Rain did not show the same pattern.
StudyFinds reported that rainfall had little to no consistent connection with mental health contacts across age groups, sex, or condition.
Temperature had a more complicated relationship.
Contacts were lower in colder weather and rose as temperatures increased, especially for emergency calls and emergency department visits. Older adults appeared more sensitive to both cold spells and heat waves.
Researchers said that understanding how ordinary weather affects demand for mental health care could help health systems plan staffing and services.
The findings also fit with broader research linking reduced sunlight to mood changes, sleep disruption, and seasonal mood disorders.
Less sunlight can affect the body’s internal clock and may influence serotonin, a brain chemical tied to mood regulation.
The study does not prove that cloudy weather directly causes mental health problems.
It does suggest that dull, low-sunshine days may be one factor that pushes more people to seek help.
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