Does the full moon affect sleep?

Photo of author
Written By Rivera Claudia

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur pulvinar ligula augue quis venenatis. 

There are many myths surrounding the mysterious powers of the moon. As a tidal engine, it moves the waters of the mighty oceans. It stands to reason that it also influences our biology and behavior. According to one survey, 40 percent of all Germans are “moon-sensitive.” But what’s really wrong with the most popular myths? Moon myths?

Does the moon affect sleep or not?

You can’t sleep during a full moon – that’s probably the most common assumption when it comes to the moon’s influence. According to scientific studies, this seems to be more of a subjective perception than scientific knowledge. A 2021 study published in the journal “Advances in Science” was published, however, it came to different results. According to it, the phases of the moon can actually influence sleep patterns.

Shorter sleep during full moon

Leandro Casiraghi and his team at the University of Washington recorded the sleep behavior of four different groups of participants over two lunar cycles. The participants were indigenous residents of three Argentine villages with little, no or consistent access to electricity. Their sleep data were supplemented with that of American students in Seattle.

The result: The researchers were able to determine the same periodic fluctuations in sleep behavior in all four groups – despite the different lifestyles and the different influence of artificial light.

In all groups, people fell asleep 30 to 80 minutes later than usual in the three to five days leading up to the full moon. They also slept 20 to 90 minutes less. There were only slight differences between city dwellers and indigenous people living without artificial light. This effect repeated itself regularly – parallel to the lunar cycle. “We see a clear lunar influence on sleep,” says Horacio de la Iglesia, Casiraghi’s colleague. Scientists believe this phenomenon could be an evolutionary adaptation. For example, our ancestors were able to hunt for longer under the bright light of the full moon.

Why are city dwellers also influenced by the moon?

But why does this phenomenon also affect city dwellers who are unlikely to be affected by the brightness of a full moon night due to artificial lighting at night? Casiraghi and his team add another factor to explain this: the gravitational influence of the Moon. The researchers came to this assumption because, in addition to the influence of the full moon on sleep behavior, indigenous people also noticed a second, weaker rash during the new moon.

“Future research should focus on how the moon affects us: Does it work through our internal clock? Or through other signals that influence sleep timing? There is still much to learn about this effect,” Casiraghi said (Advances in Science).

Swiss study: The moon influences sleep

Christian Cajochen, head of the chronobiology department at the University Psychiatric Clinics in Basel, also published a paper in 2013, according to which the quality of sleep is influenced by the lunar cycle. Scientists recorded the brain waves of sleeping subjects and examined their melatonin levels. The result, according to the study: the phases of the full moon do indeed have an impact on sleep. The test subjects needed five minutes longer to fall asleep, the overall sleep duration was reduced by 20 minutes, melatonin levels were relatively low at the same time, and sleep was less “good” because the deep sleep phases were shortened by 30 percent. But this does not prove anything. Christian Cajochen also admits that the study has significant weaknesses.

Insomnia? Self-fulfilling prophecy

Other scientists, including those at the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich, have been unable to confirm the Swiss study’s findings. They retrospectively reviewed sleep data from more than 1,200 participants over more than 2,000 nights and found no connection with the lunar cycle. However, they did find evidence that positive studies do get published, especially when older data is reanalyzed, while negative ones get shelved.

Source link

Leave a Comment

mbd mbd mbd mbd mbd mbd mbd mbd mbd mbd mbd mbd mbd mbd mbd mbd mbd mbd mbd mbd mbd mbd mbd mbd mbd