Your risk of OCD may be related to how much sunlight you get, according to a new study

We already know that decreasing sunlight can affect people's mental health. About six percent of people in the United States experience seasonal affective disorder, where lack of sunshine during the winter months can cause symptoms of depression. But according to a new study, getting less sunlight can potentially be linked to greater chances of developing an obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

The study, which comes out of the University of Binghamton, State University of New York, and will be published in the July 2018 edition of Journal of Obsessive Disorders -compulsive and related researchers involved compile data from "many articles that treated prevalence rates of OCD in some places, then recorded the latitudes of each place," according to a statement on the study published on ScienceDaily. "The results of this project are exciting as they provide additional evidence of a new way of thinking about OCD," said Meredith E. Coles, a professor at Binghamton University and senior author of the TOC. Study, in a statement. "Specifically, they show that living in areas with more sun is linked to lower rates of OCD."

According to the statement, Coles and his fellow researchers believe that higher rates OCD may be related to lack of sunlight at higher altitudes rejecting people's natural circadian rhythms. The team wrote in its release that people who suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder have unusual sleep patterns, noting that "people with OCD often report not being able to fall asleep later." provided that. to compensate for this lack of sleep, thus adopting a delayed sleep-wake cycle that can have adverse effects on their symptoms. "

Ashley Batz / Bustle

Coles said in the statement that people with extinct sleep cycles may have less exposure to morning light," thus potentially contributing to a misalignment between our biology and the external light-dark cycle. "She added," People living in less sunny areas may have fewer opportunities to synchronize their circadian clock, resulting in increased OCD symptoms. "

Altitude regions have consistently shown prevalence rates of low-altitude turbidity, "according to the study.

Although it is sound evidence showing a potential link It is not enough to say definitively that the relationship between OCD and places receiving less sunlight is caused rather than correlated.Coles said in the statement of study that she and her team are continuing their research in this area, and plan to "test a variety of treatment methods that address sleep and circadian rhythm disturbances".

"We first examine the relationships between temporal sleep and OCD symptoms repeatedly over time in order to start thinking about causal relationships," Coles said in the statement. "Second, we measure circadian rhythms directly by measuring melatonin levels and asking people to wear watches that track their activity and rest periods. Finally, we are conducting research to better understand the relationship between sleep and sleep. obsessive-compulsive disorder. "

Binghamton University study, on which Coles was also a lead author, showed that the time when people with OCD go to bed" significantly predicts the perceived ability of participants to control their obsessive thoughts and compulsive behavior the next day, according to a statement from this study published on ScienceDaily.

Hannah Burton / Bustle

Jessica Schubert, a co-author on this document, explained in the statement that the research examined how "the unusual moment of sleep could affect cognitive functioning," and added that he was in. It is possible that disturbed sleep has a negative effect on the control of people's impulses. It may be that changing the timing of your sleep will reduce your ability to control your thoughts and behaviors, so that it is more likely that you have difficulty in spreading intrusive thoughts characteristic of obsessions, and this could make it more difficult for you to refrain from compulsive behaviors that are designed According to the statement on the most recent study, Coles will go ahead with information from these two studies and looking at how exposure to morning light could potentially reduce the anxiety caused by obsessive thoughts. be used in the future to revolutionize the way health professionals help people with OCD.