Can you remember how well you slept during the last full moon? Do you somehow feel different, even when you’re not aware it’s a full moon?
If so, you’re not alone. Despite somewhat limited scientific evidence, millions of people believe that the moon holds an uncanny power over them.
In this article, I’ll be looking at why people feel the moon has such an influence over them, as well as studies that have been done into this worldwide belief.
Then you can make your own decision as to whether or not you think you’ll sleep differently when the next full moon comes around.
Not just superstitious people
Even casual exposure to the emergency services, law enforcement, teaching or social care will involve contact with firm believers in the adverse effects of a full moon.
From hospitals to police stations, the full moon is sometimes blamed for everything from poor sleep patterns to an increase in accident numbers to sudden psychotic episodes.
Some serious, professional, highly trained individuals are certain the moon affects us. In 2011, researchers published an astonishing figure in the World Journal of Surgery:
More than 40% of medical staff is convinced that lunar phases can affect human behavior
The team then looked into medical data to see if there were any notable changes on typically superstitious days, but found none:
Scientific analysis of our data does not support the belief that moon phases, zodiac signs, or Friday 13th influence surgical blood loss and emergency frequency.
So why the difference between what staff think and what research actually shows? Is it that scientific staff have unscientific superstitions, or did the researchers explored the wrong moonlit avenues?
The Transylvania effect
The Transylvania Effect is a term first coined in academic literature in the 1990s. It describes the belief that the lunar cycle can produce both psychologically and physiologically disturbances in people and populations.
The belief that the moon exerts a direct influence on the body and mind can be traced back to pre-Christian times. Pliny the Elder – a Roman author, naturalist, and philosopher – believed that because the full moon caused heavy dew it must also make the brain become “unnaturally moist”.
That was how, he claimed, the moon caused both epilepsy and lunacy. Hippocrates noted that “no physician should be entrusted with the treatment of disease who was ignorant of the science of astronomy”.
And in various languages, the word lunatic has its roots in the moon. For example, the old English word for lunatic was monseoc, which literally means ‘moon sick’.
In the 21st century, we perpetuate lunar myths in our entertainment and our media. From books to films, from memes to light-hearted end of the world news stories, we constantly repeat the tropes of the Moon’s effect on behavior.
Ancient Calendars
The very earliest calendars were based on the cycles of the moon, with the sighting of the new moon indicating a new phase in the year.
Marks on the walls of the prehistoric painted caves at Lascaux in France are believed by Dr. Michael Rappenglueck, of the University of Munich, to be the earliest lunar calendar.
The series of dots and squares painted among the 15,000 year old drawings of bulls, horses and antelopes represent the 29 day lunar cycle.
Most pre-modern calendars were lunisolar, combining the solar year with the lunar year. The Julian calendar abandoned this in favor of a purely solar reckoning. However, the Islamic calendar opted for a purely lunar one.
It should be noted that lunar calendars have always been particularly popular among agricultural societies. This may well be the foundation for our belief that we sleep less during the full moon.
All full moons rise around the time of sunset. But the so-called “harvest moon” and “hunter’s moon”, which occur during the agriculturally busy late summer and autumn in the northern hemisphere behave in a notable way.
They move across the sky in a way that means there’s no long period of darkness between sunset and moonrise for several days around the full moon.
So our belief in restless sleep on full moon nights may stem from a long-held belief that we should be out working under the full moon.
Is there scientific evidence that the full moon influences behavior?
In nature, we can prove lunar rhythms. A good example is the triggering of the spawning of the coral on the Great Barrier Reef around the full moon in December.
With regard to humans, however, there’s limited scientific evidence to match the vast amounts of anecdotal stories and superstitious beliefs.
Research offers hope that the full moon affects sleep
Some interesting evidence comes from a research study in 2013, which was carried out at the University of Basel in Switzerland.
What made it interesting is that neither the participants nor the team in the lab were told what the study was about, because it wasn’t even the aim of the study at the time. The data was actually retrospectively analyzed later, when the researchers had the idea of seeing what data from a previous study might say about the influence of the full moon.
Another useful feature of the study is that the lab was darkened at the time. So not only were the participants unaware they were in some kind of moon + sleep study, but they would not have seen a full moon shining its bright light through a window either.
So the researchers were able to retrospectively analyze the effect of the full moon on the sleep of the 33 unaware volunteers. And on the nights that there was a full moon, they discovered that:
- The volunteers took 5 minutes longer to fall asleep.
- They had 20 minutes less total sleep.
- They spent 30% less time in the deep sleep phase.
The study author, Prof Christian Cajochen, proposed that since the participants probably weren’t aware of the full moon, perhaps we are naturally attuned to the lunar cycle, saying:
The lunar cycle seems to influence human sleep, even when one does not see the Moon and is not aware of the actual moon phase.
Whilst intriguing, the research hasn’t been without criticism. Perhaps most importantly, 33 people is a small sample and subsequent research with more participants has not replicated the results.
Research shows no lunar effect
In 2014, a team of researchers took note of the Basel research and also re-analyzed the data from three large samples in different studies. The results didn’t back up the original research though:
…in a re-analysis of sleep electroencephalography (EEG) data in three large samples, we were unable to replicate their findings.
In 2015, Swiss researchers recorded the sleep of 2125 individuals using polysomnogram at home. Once again, they found no change in people’s sleep based on the moon:
Our large population-based study provides no evidence of a significant effect of lunar phases on human sleep.
And in 2016, a large international study looked at the sleep of 5812 children aged 9 to 11, in 12 countries.
Although they did find that overall sleep time was 1% less on average during full moon, they question how significant that really is, concluding:
In conclusion, sleep duration was 1% shorter at full moon compared to new moon, while activity behaviors were not significantly associated with the lunar cycle in this global sample of children. Whether this seemingly minimal difference is clinically meaningful is questionable.
Research in 2021 offers more hope for believers in the full moon’s effect
In 2021, a team of researchers published the results of a fascinating study they undertook with communities in Argentina and the United States.
The team used wrist actimetry (wrist-worn sleep tracking) to measure the sleep of communities of indigenous Toba/Qom people in Argentina. Some had access to electric light, but others didn’t. They also compared their sleep patterns with people in a highly urbanized setting in the US.
As with many previous studies, they found that access to electric light was correlated with less overall sleep and delayed onset of sleep. Interestingly, they found a modulation of sleep throughout the moon cycle – both in individual communities and the whole population. They found that the peak of sleep onset time and lowest overall sleep occurred in the three to five days before the full moon.
The fact that they found this effect in college students in Seattle will likely confirm many people’s suspicion that the moon must have an effect because they only later realize there had been a full moon. This is a comment many readers have made below, and one that’s hard to ignore if it happens to you personally.
The researchers suggest that perhaps the moon’s gravity has a role to play. Despite admitting that they couldn’t establish causality in their study, I imagine this is an area for future research to explore. Though as they point out, controlling the moon’s gravitational pull so they can compare people with and without that effect would be somewhat impossible!
Conclusion
As you can see, the research jury is still out on just how much of an impact the lunar cycle has on our sleep. While some studies appear to provide tantalizing evidence that the full moon could be partly responsible for the occasional night of less sleep, others failed to find a significant effect.
The latest study in 2021 is fascinating as it explores both the practical and cultural reasons an indigenous population with no access to electric light would choose to be awake for longer on the nights there’s more natural light.
Why would a group of students in the US also experience a change in their sleep though? Is it the moon’s gravity gently tugging at their desire to fall asleep? Is it ancestral knowledge and behavior engrained in our culture, many moons after we first moved into our high-tech homes? Do they just love a good full-moon party in Seattle?
Your thoughts
Do you feel that the moon influences how well you sleep? Does the full moon appear to affect your or someone you know’s behavior? Let me know in the comments below.
Not a wink of sleep all night. I don’t feel tired, just a bit weary like I’m missing something ?
I am not superstitious at all, but it seem to be quite a long time now that at least once a mont I have had trouble at sleeping. I have never suspected anything about the full moon’ effect. To be honest I always related my trouble sleep with my menstrual cycle. At least thought so.But lately I have noticed that full moon influences my sleep and I have been my own guard . It is the third time now that I can’t sleep during the night and this happened only in the full moon. All the pieces fall into place. My sleep troubles are happening because of the moon. I said to my husband and my friend they both laughted at me.
Everyone laughs at me too! They say the moon affects your hormones so why do ppl not get it when we stress this?
They put everything down to science and forget the Human being experience & intuition. Some things can’t be measured, or touched only felt and experienced, we can’t all be wrong. Most ppl have lost touch with themselves.
I for one am wide awake all night during full moon, even when I haven’t noticed its a full moon, but the insomnia usualy makes me go an check, because I forget at times the power the moon has on me untill the symptoms show up.
I also get uber sensitive and edgy.
But why would it not affect us? We have ovulated with the moon cycle all our lifes, stands to reason for me!
Same here! I don’t even think about the moon until I’m sleepless or wired one night and then I decide to check outside. It’s always a full moon or at least near it.
Then I check the lunar cycle online and know it will be several days’ worth of insomnia.
It starts to affect me at about 85% full. Which sucks.
yep full moon alway,s can not sleep even sleeping tablets might not work
The nights I can’t sleep no matter what I do or take, I look at the calendar and it’s always a NEW moon.
every single time have a hard time sleepin
I’m a Namibian, at first I thought it’s only my brother and me struggling with this lunatic thing, but thanks to God there’s an internet where we can learn and share… I love and hate full moon..
Literally tossed and turned for over two hours last night even after taking melatonin and another natural vitamin to help sleep.
Same for tonight. Sleep mask on and even though I laid down in bed feeling I was about to sleep well and way easier than last night… NOPE. Been in bed for an hour and a half and WAS NOT on phone until I literally decided to look up this topic bc it’s making me feel crazy… Or should I say… Like a lunatic!
Sept 5,2017. I’ve always had trouble with sleep during a full moon. I have a twin brother call me one day and ask. Don’t think I’m crazy but when there’s a full moon. I didn’t let him finish. I said you can’t sleep. I said omg should have known because we are twins. It is so hard to get back to a routine if sleeping after a full moon. Sometimes it will drive me almost crazy.
I never even knew something like this existed until recently , I always thought it was something to do with my periods . But it’s 4 am now and I still haven’t gotten any sleep and it’s full moon today . It is a possibility now that I think of it . And I have had such a long long day, it’s in a way shocking I still haven’t slept . I first thought maybe it’s cos am over tired . Maybe it’s all of it . I don’t know . But am so tired and I want to sleep and am not able to . Maybe I should just give up trying and watch something and just let it go . My room is pitch black so there is no way it’s the moon light entering but yes it’s a full moon night and it looks beautiful outside. Am glad to know am not alone anyway. Sending love and Power to you all.
Every full moon for about 3 nights running I wake about 3am then toss and turn till 5. 30 ish … light sleeper at the best of times but when it’s full moon I’m wired my daughter is the same …
Me too. It’s never just the one night; usually a few days leading up to the full moon and then a couple afterwards.
My period often affects my sleep, too, which is bad enough on its own. But when it coincides with a full moon then it’s a guaranteed sleepless night.
I’m glad I found this website as none of my friends or family experience the same and I was beginning to feel like a lunatic. (Pun intended.)
Agreed, it’s 3:23 a.m. & the huge full moon over Miami has me wide awake! It’s so reassuring to know other people are also sleepless! March 2, 2018, Good luck everyone!!
The conclusion part is absolute wrong. I have been observing this on my own for quite a long time..close to 25 years…It is absolutely true that the moon has its effects on the body…How and why am not to answer or advocate.. Scientific conclusions i can care two hoots or can it can go take a hike…just for having a explanation for everything or it being the end all mantra does not necessarily conclude everything in life. Sometime the need to have micro reasoning or scrutinizing overtly for each and everything goes beyond just readings..More research..needs to be done. But the effect is has is quite obvious..and must do with our human origins and the way we were wired initially by the Almighty. Go figure it out yourselves..
same with me. Every full moon Im Flying for 3 days Straight…and Have been since I was a kid Im in my 60s now.. Science is wrong when it comes to this! MaybeNext time these Scientist should try theirexperiment with some of the people on this page and see what they say then
….lol
I keep telling people that every time there is a full moon for two to three days I have a hard time sleeping, nobody believes me.I can tell you every time there is a full moon without even looking up at it..
Every full moon I have trouble getting to sleep and when I do it is restless sleep. This mostly occurs when I do not even know that it us a full moon and then I check and ut is. This disturbed sleep lasts for 3 says…just as long as the full moon.
Me too. Can’t sleep during full moon. Also lasts about 3 days. It has been a part of my life for 30 some years. The thing is, I never realized it had anything to do with the moon. When I got married my husband became aware of my sleepless nights coinciding with full moons. I didn’t think he was right, but he started keeping a calendar, and long and behold, it proved him right. I still thought it might be tied to my menstrual period cycle, so I started keeping track of that as well. In the end, the full moon theory won. So, take it from a practical, pragmatic, skeptic. It happens.
It’s 3:19 am where I live, I’ve been tossing and turning since 10pm. It’s amusing to see comments from fellow sufferers, I too am here because I got bored of staring at the ceiling and thought I should google what is causing my insomnia. At first I suspected the chamomille tea I had before bed, but maybe it’s the moon instead.
I had a hard time falling asleep yesterday and this happens every full moon. My mind is racing and I can’t fall asleep. My friend has the same problem and she told me to put a basin of water next to my bed on the night of the full moon. I remembered to give that a try yesterday and it worked.
This is so right! My daughter kept tossing and turning in bed; reading and checking her cell phone and it’s already almost 3am; she said she can’t sleep! Yup – it’s full moon last night.
August 7 – very full moon – very little sleep – finally got out of bed at 4:15 am – didn’t need to turn on lights in the house – moon lit up the whole house – went to the kitchen – ate some yoghurt – went on line – googled “full moon & sleeplessness” and found this article.
I’m 73 years old, a retired school teacher, and have experienced sleepless nights and restless children and full moons for years. Why can’t scientists establish correlation with this phenomena???
I’m awake too
Hi!
I feel you – I am normally very good sleeper even with 4 year old kid in the house. Last night wasn’t any brighter than normal and I went to bed around midnight – I was tired but I mind couldnt set. After one hour “strugle” I decided to google the moon phases and you know already the answer… full moon. And this has happened many times before even though I don’t keep track. Very mysterious insomnia feeling.
I cannot deny my facts. I do not pay particular attention to when the moon will be full and yet over and over I go to bed with high hopes of a good nights sleep and over and over I either can’t fall asleep or if I do, I can’t stay asleep for long. I wake up and look out at the sky and sure enough, it’s a full moon. This has gone on for years. I just wish I understood why that is. I am also highly affected by low barometric weather changes. My body feels as though I am wearing a scuba diving suit 3 times too small and I can’t ‘take it off’ until the air pressure is better. It’s painful and I feel a little like I am coming down with the flu. I just have to wait it out. I try not to pay attention to the weather forcast so I don’t anticipate feeling bad. I start to feel bad and after a while I check the weather to see what’s going on and sure enough a storm is coming. Many times my body is a more dependable gauge to know the strength of an upcoming storm than a weather forcast. So at this point I figure the moon must be a part of whatever it is that makes my system so sensitive concerning the weather. It’s my truth and I’m sticking to it because I haven’t figured out how to make it not true. As much as I wish I could!! P.S. I have black out bedroom curtains so my room is very dark at night. Makes no difference at all.
Today I am not a able to sleep. Which is always the case at New moon. Slightly affected by full moon but especially with New moon. Very much awake and hungrey. Is there also some indication why New moon is a problem?
2AM and I’m awake. I feel tired but wired, like too much caffeine ( which I don’t drink). I’ve had trouble sleeping under a full and mostly full moon for years.
I’m just recuperating from a full moon hangover! I couldn’t fall sleep until about 3am between July 9 and July 10 and my daughter couldn’t sleep the night before that (meaning I also didn’t). I was physically tired but as others have stated “wired”. I wonder if some full moons are felt stronger than others. Where I live people take the moon cycles seriously, even choosing when to cut their hair based on whether it’s waxing or waning! Somehow these ancient, scientifically-unfounded beliefs are reassuring and comfortingly human.
yesterday and today , it’s full moon , and i’m not able to sleep , two days in a row without sleeping a minute , it was weird because i didn’t know why until i read this article and i believe it’s true
I do believe a full moon exerts some sort of force over me. Every single time there is a full moon, my sleep is far from sound…the rest of the time I sleep perfectly. Also, I have always been drawn to the moon, inexplicably. There may be no solid scientific evidence to support a full moon and human reaction to it, but all I know is, I certainly am affected…it can’t be a coincidence every time!
It’s 3:10am (full moon). My muscles tend to ache, and I feel wired. Sleepy, but not at the same time.
Weird! It’s always the worst around 3am for me. I wonder…
Me, my almost 3 year old, and 6 month old are currently still up! It’s 12:05 AM! Full moon is blaring through my living room window. The last 2 days have been late nights as well but tonight is bye far the worst. And none of us are going to bed any time soon, everyone is wide awake. I also am a believer in the full moon effect. We are more intunned with the world then we realize.
I can never sleep well when there is a full moon. I don’t even need to look from the window – I feel nervous, cant keep my eyes shut and in my head i feel pressure. I think that this must have some scientifical background. Moon affects oceans and people are made of 75%> water, so this might be a good start for a research.
I have never slept through the night or woke up rested on nights leading up to and just after a full moon. Also why i just googled it. And my kids….neither one sleeps well either….both just woke up..1207am!
I never sleep well when it’s a full moon! My guess is the brightness, as my bedroom is otherwise very dark. Currently on vacation at the beach, and Mr. Moon is full and bright over the ocean, looking beautiful! But in combination with not being in my own bed, and him in the night sky, I likely won’t sleep!
I struggle to get to sleep in the run up to the full moon and just after. The best way I can describe it is that I feel wired. I’m tired, but not as tired as I should be with the amount of sleep that I get.
I always know when the full moon is near because my sleep patterns change in a big way. I’m restless and typically wide awake until the wee hours of the morning. It takes me a couple of days to recuperate from my moon-hangover, but the quality of my sleep following a full moon phase is top-notch. Always have been mesmerized by the beauty and power of the big light in the night sky, so suffering through it for a few days a month is an fair trade-off for me.
I struggle with insomnia but when I looked out and saw bright full moon I had to Google if anyone else has been affected by the moon.I find the moon an amazing planet that God created. Night night to all insomniacs x I hate being tired from lack of sleep. G.A.D. ??? God Bless to you ALL ❤
I too am having a hard time sleeping and so did my husband a half world away… I don’t think it’s coincidence! As a healthcare professional, I have always believed in the power of a full moon.
It’s just after 3 am haven’t slept . Googled full moon and sure enough 9 June. This isn’t the first time for me usually the day before affects me. I am a firm believer in this
I don’t sleep well during the few days before and after the full moon.
Cannot sleep a wink spent 5 hours lying in bed before calling it quits and decided to go for a walk at 1.30 am only to find out that the full moon has struck me yet once again… Ireland 8 June 2017
Hi Sean,
How reassuring it is knowing that I’m not alone in this belief. Even someone as far away as you are and you’re suffering from insomnia during a full moon too. It’s a bit frustrating to read articles that don’t find any scientific proof of this when so many people report having the very same problem from all over the world. Even though the full moon brings on sleepless nights it’s still such a beautiful sight to behold.
When I was restless this morning, I wasn’t surprised when I looked out my window to see the full moon just past it’s apex in the East of its traverse across the skies with the shining Venus giving it the eye as if to say “Who’s the brightest in the sky?”
I have occasional bouts of insomnia, which are always much worse at the time of the full moon. It is about 3:00 am and I have been up since about 1:00 am, reading, playing games on my tablet, and feeling jumpy. I didn’t even realize it was the full moon until I looked out the window. Since it happens for several days every month, I firmly believe there is a connection for me.
Hi Kathy
Thanks for your comment. It’s really interesting to hear your story. I guess if it only, and always, happens when there’s a full moon, there must be something going on there!
Regards
Ethan
Every night that i can’t sleep, tomorrow i realise, it was a full moon! Now, im getting used to it. I don’t even check calendars to see when the next full moon is, cuz i already now from my sleep. Glad to see im not alone.
Hi Lassnata
Thanks for your comment. It was very interesting to read this, as it suggests that even without knowing it’s the full moon, it affects your sleep!
Regards
Ethan
Can’t sleep at all tonight, it’s a full moon in central nebraska and can’t sleep, not the first time for me either, just thought I’d research it a bit…. I’m not alone
I am a doctor. I myself have been insomniac on certain nights. Some years later i noticed that it was always the nights of waxing moon. i didnt pay much attention. later i read these things on internet that there are some other persons who have reported the same. The thing is we are affected by it, we feel it.
I can’t sleep
Hi there
Perhaps you’ll find some useful tips on this website to help you. And if not, hopefully reading enough articles at night will send you to sleep…
Regards
Ethan
Full Moon can induce emotionally imbalanced people to act irrationally. One male college student climbed up to the dormitory of the college women students.Some of them were sleeping in the open hall. This student walked by without hurting any one but when the security was alerted he mercilessly hit this person when some of us interceded. He looked dazed and did not have an answer for his behaviour. some people get moony.