There are many rumors that the full moon affects human psychology, increases crime, disrupts sleep patterns and even affects women’s menstrual cycles. Also, astrologers love this subject a lot and explain how it will affect you every full moon period.
Of course, the full moon legends as old as thousands of years of human history and the support of these legends with some ‘data’ did not attract the attention of someone who felt bad on a full moon day or a famous astrologer. There are many scientific studies on this subject. So what do these studies say? Could it be that the full moon also affects people, like the tidal effect it creates on seas and lakes?
The phases of the moon really affect some living things
Yes, this information is correct. Moonlight affects some living things, especially their reproductive cycles. For example, some fish reproduce by synchronizing their spawning cycles to the moonlight. This is because they position the moonlight as a reliable and unchanging kind of ‘clock’. So they use the phases of the Moon to figure out what’s due.
In fact, it is known that there are changes in the spawning and breeding cycles of some animals in areas that are brighter than they should be due to human-made light sources.
It has been believed for many years that there is a connection between the fertility of people and the full moon. In many cultures and beliefs, the full moon is associated with fertility. However, scientific studies on this subject have not found a connection between the conditions. So no, the full moon does not affect human fertility or the menstrual cycle.
Are the rumors true that the full moon affects our psychology and increases crimes?
Our answer to that is no. Scientists have been the subject of various studies, especially the claims about the effect of the full moon on people of all kinds. However, the results obtained either revealed that there was no such effect or gave an ‘indeterminate’ result due to some inconsistent data.
To explain the inconsistent data a little bit; For example, one study revealed some results regarding increased traffic accidents on full moon nights. However, when the research was examined, it was noticed that the result focused on the full moons on the weekends when traffic accidents were already statistically high. In other words, there is no evidence that accidents increase during the full moons that coincide with the week. However, the issue is not in the full moon again.
Examining more than 100 reports published as a result of research, a team has found no definitive data to reveal the connection between the full moon and human behavior.
The only ‘positive’ explanation for its effect on sleep patterns and psychology goes back to the times when there was no street lighting and the full moon was a great source of light. According to this explanation, long before modern society, the full moon may have affected people’s sleep as a gigantic light source that was not normally present.
People who sleep in pitch darkness every night may have suffered from insomnia on bright nights. This may have triggered some psychological disorders, such as bipolar disorder, in which sleep disturbances affect behavior. But this explanation is not 100% correct, and even if it is, the issue is nothing more than ‘light hits my eyes, I can’t sleep’…
We know that there is a gravitational effect on the water thanks to the tides that occur at the full moon; What if our body, which is 60% water, is also affected by this situation?
Another defense of people who are absolutely sure that the full moon influences human behavior is the tidal effect of the full moon on the seas and lakes. According to this claim, the full moon may have a similar effect on our bodies, which are 60% water, just as it does in seas and lakes. But according to science this is not the case. So why?
First of all, in the new moon phase, which is another phase of the Moon, the tides in the seas and lakes are experienced at least as effectively as the full moon. However, you are less likely to come across someone who says they feel more miserable on the new moon. Or to those who try to present data on the increase in accidents and crime rates, and increase in fertility. If the Moon’s gravitational pull is so effective on us, I think we should have heard similar scenarios for the new moon.
In addition, the gravitational force of the Moon only affects open water sources such as lakes and seas. The water in our body is far from being a pond that you can define like a sea and a lake.
Another point is that the gravitational force of the Moon is not strong enough to affect the human brain and body. George Ogden Abell, one of the prominent astronomers, explains this situation with the words, ‘A mosquito landing on our arm exerts more gravitational force on us than the Moon can exert’…
So why do millions of people believe that the full moon affects them?
There can be many answers to this question. For example, we can say that the stories transmitted for thousands of years have a great influence on this. Likewise, the growth of myths about the full moon such as ‘bad luck’ or, on the contrary, ‘abundance’ over the years, with the support of the media, has certainly been effective. But there is also a clearer answer; misleading correlation.
The illusory correlation is not just that the full moon affects us; one of the situations that causes us to believe in other ‘astrological’ stories, such as horoscopes. Its definition is as follows; variables that do not have a causal relationship between them or that have an artificial relationship between them because they are affected by a third factor, are connected to each other with a ’cause-effect’ relationship and accepted as real.
If we explain over the full moon; When an event occurs on a night with a full moon, we tend to remember it and associate it with the full moon. But when nothing happens on another full moon night, this information doesn’t stay in our brains either. What remains in our minds is that something bad happened on a night with a full moon.
As a result, scientific research conducted so far has not been able to provide any conclusive evidence that the full moon affects the human body. What you have heard so far, the meaning you have attributed, perhaps the full moon rituals from old stories may have convinced you that the full moon has different effects. However, when you feel bad on any evening without a full moon, or when you get restless and sleepless on a night without a full moon, you should remind yourself of all this again.
It’s hard not to be enchanted when you look at the full moon illuminating a dark sky. Even just this impressive view of the Moon can make us feel different emotions. But it’s also something we can feel when we see a giant tree who knows how old or a bird soaring in the air. So instead of limiting yourself trying to figure out how it will affect you, enjoy the stunning full moon view!
Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
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