Moonstruck! Does the Moon Affect Your Sleep?

Who hasn't been awed by the beauty of a full moon flooding over the horizon? But does the shine of the full moon have any influence on sleep? Does it increase your chance of insomnia? Folklore tells us that the full moon has long been associated with magic, as well as with states of madness and insomnia. We've all heard the old warning: if you stare too long at the moon you may go mad.

In fact, the Lunar cycle has influenced life and the mind of Man since the beginning of time. The link runs so deep in our culture, that we even see it in our language; the words 'lunacy' and 'lunatic' both derive their meanings from associations with Luna, the Roman moon goddess. Stories of lycanthropes, or werewolves, also feed heavily on this link between changing human states and the appearance of a full moon. Many calendars and almanacs include Moon Planting Calendars and even Fishing Guides.

A lot of sleep disorders seem to follow the phases of the moon. While the moon is full, some people may suffer from insomnia, strange dreams, nightmares, and some people even sleepwalk.

Indeed, the idea that the full moon has an effect on human and animal health and behaviour shows no sign of going away. In 19th-century England, lawyers used the "guilty by reason of the full moon" defence to claim that their "lunatic" clients could not be held accountable for acting under the moon's influence. Recent American study found that the belief in a lunar cycle effect among health professionals is waxing (decreasing Moon) rather than waning (increasing Moon).

Everybody knows such expression as “mood madness”, in fact, it close to the truth. You may not believe that the moon can cause a person to go mad, but the full moon definitely has an effect on emotional condition.

There is no doubt now the phases of the moon do have an effect on the human mind. The moon does have a certain magnetic attraction which can cause tides, but recent studies show that the magnetic pull of the moon can also affect people’s moods and their brain activity. Some researches suggesting that a full moon, or a phase close to such, excites the brain’s impulses and making it harder to fall asleep.

If you look at major cities all over the world, you will notice that the day before, after and during the full moon there is more rape and murder going on. The reason is that the full moon tends to cause a ripple in the magnetic field of the earth, and this change is enough to take people that are emotionally near the edge over the edge. The magnetic field affects the emotional body.

Dr Arnold Lierber suggests the biological tide theory, in which the moon exerts a pull on the water within the body (which is 65 percent water), resulting in a cascade of effects. Internal body rhythms may also be implicated, as could the effects on the pineal gland of the light emitted by the moon or a slightly warmer temperature triggered by the full moon.