Stormy weather may put a damper on your weekend beach plans, but it’s probably doing wonders for your bank account.
New research published in PLOS ONE shows that the amount of sunlight people are exposed to can impact their monetary decisions.
People who experienced more sunlight were more tolerant of financial risks, according to the researchers from the University of Sydney and New York University.
The scientists looked at luminance, a measurement of the amount of light that falls on the Earth’s surface, and how it affects many aspects of human behavior, from sleep to sex to appetite.
They studied the effects on more than 2,500 people in Washington, DC, and found that on high-luminance days, people were more likely to spring for an unknown chance of getting $20 — more so than just taking a certain $5 payout.
The findings could have “significant effects on financial markets,” said Agnieszka Tymula, associate professor at University of Sydney, in a statement.
And, while artificial light therapy may be doing wonders for those suffering from seasonal affective disorder, it might introduce some unforeseen consequences.
“One cannot help but wonder,” Tymula writes in the study, “to what extent light therapy prescribed to depression sufferers affects their everyday decision-making.”