Go ahead, trim that tree! Research determined decades ago that decorating for Christmas early is good for you

LOS ANGELES - While it seems holiday decorations go up earlier and earlier every year, research may prove that decorating early could actually be good for your mental health. 

Researchers determined back in the 1980s that people who decorate for Christmas earlier are happier, so this is your reminder to start trimming that tree yesterday.

According to the research, U.S. residents may use holiday decorations on their home's exterior to communicate friendliness and cohesiveness with neighbors. 

The study also goes on to say that early festive decorations can help improve one’s lack of friends over the holidays. 

FILE - A traditional home is transformed into an over the top Christmas lights display along Candy Cane Lane in El Segundo, Ca.

“We also examine the possibility that residents who decorate for Christmas but who have few friends on the block may be using the decorations and other cues as a way of communicating their accessibility to neighbors," researchers wrote. 

Researchers said that the presence of decorations communicates the need for a more open and inclusive neighborhood. 

So while some might be intimidated or annoyed by the prospect of early onset festiveness in one’s neighborhood, those extravagant and ostentatious lighting fixtures could just be another way of saying “welcome!”