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.
It’s 2h05 and I’m wide awake. Tried to check if it’s a full moon and landed on this site. If ever proof is needed of the moon’s effect on humans, just scrawl down here and you have more than enough proof. No scientific anything needed, period.
Always thought I’m alone in this. Now I know better.
Same here. Precise 2 am in India and I am awake.
Hello there I agree with the others if I am writing this the moon is in a position that is causing me an issue
I also do not follow the lunar phase but every time it comes around I can’t sleep. Even the next night or two I am usually affected. I have no clue what causes this. Glad to know I am not the only one.
I’ve been trying to sleep since 3 hours and still no luck. It’s 11;49 pm rn and i cant sleep. Its just now that i’ve realized its a full moon and i always have difficulties falling asleep during a full moon.
Whenever i have poor sleep I check the moon, approximately 90 percent of the time it’s a full moon. I found this page by checking if it was a full moon last night :)
I am the same if I’m up thru the night I check to see if it’s a full moon, both my daughter and myself were up at 2.45am, I usually sleep well but not time if full moon and takes ages to get back to slee
I dont care what anyone thinks i dont follow lunar phases but know for a fact when ever me and my children r up all nite it is always a full moon
Every time there’s a full moon I either feel more anxious than usual, or my sleep is interrupted. I woke up in the middle of the night just now from a terrible nightmare and now I’m wide awake. I didn’t think anything of it, until I saw online that there was a full moon tonight
29th April couldn’t get to sleep, tossing and turning. I fell asleep 5 am woke at 6.30. It happens every Full Moon.
I didnt even know it was full moon until now…..i usually sleep very well and fall asleep in a second but now i have been having huge trouble falling asleep and staying asleep last night and tonight, and just now it occured to me it was fullmoon. And this was not the first time.
It’s 5am and here I am reading an article on full moon affecting sleep. I’d say it’s true.
Starting a few nights before a full moon I sleep badly if at all like last night and I dread sleeping tomorrow night when it is full and my birthday. Even if I sleep with an airline sleep mask I toss and turn. I don’t think it is the light of the full moon–my windows face north and the moon rises over the Atlantic ocean to the east, I think it is some scientifically unexplained energy or “pull” because the mask makes everything pitch black and I still can’t drift off into deep sleep, just very shallow sleep with strange dreams.
Linda B
I am wide awake and its 4:30 am and no sleep. Always on the full moon.
Its 02:03 and l been wide awake since around 22:30. Tried to ignore it first and its been happening a couple of nights. I landed up on this site.it is full moon and this cant be a coincidence especially that i got nothing particular bothering me.
I am convinced that a full moon has an effect on my sleep and it is due to the gravitational pull. Not only that most of my girlfriends attest the same. My boyfriend laughs at the notion. I find that I am not paying attention to the cycle of the moon and will experience sleeping issues for a few days, then I will look to see if there is a full moon and lo and behold, it is either waxing or full!
I thought I was allone.. The Moon gutes neues straight um anxiety. Even though it makes no sense at all i feel like the moon is getting larger (actually larger) every night. It only Looks like that because I‘m looking at it from my window, which screws the perspective. But holy crap I can barely look directly at it, it freaks me out so mich.
I haven’t been able to get to sleep for like the last three days. I toss and turn and wake a lot during the night, especially around the peak of the moon. Also, when you do get to sleep, does anyone have more excitable or vivid dreams around the full moon? My dreams are always of the wall around this time
Inspite of no scientific evidence, I also have issues for 3-4 days before the full moon which continues until the full moon has passed. Light or dark, I awaken after ~2 hours of deep sleep and am restless throughout most of the early hours and will finally sleep heavily around 5am. Clockwork. I also worked in OB/GYN and whoever had call during the full moon was prepared for busy nights of deliveries. My husband is an MD and tells me that there is no scientific truth to this, but I disagree each morning of every full moon as my response to sleep quality is “couldn’t sleep. Got up and another full moon is near”. I follow my personal scientific study! Off to bed for the last blue moon! Sleep well!?
March 30, 2018. On a trip to London England my wife and I were still awake between 1:00 and 2:00 A.M last night, I never even thought of the moon until 2;00 A.M. When I checked in the morning, I found it would be full moon tonight, the 31st.
No, it was not jet lag. We flew from Canada on Monday and have slept like logs until last night.
I am heading back to bed for a nap!!
Allan & Helen.
Hi. Obviously its 2.30 a.m and I can’t sleep. Always 1-2 nights prior to full moon and the full moon night. I feel restless and also more irascible. Now I learned to control my moon mood but before realising it’s one of those days of the month, I was feeling a bit aggressive (verbally) and I could start a fight with my partner out of nowhere. Overall I have a good vibe about this full moon thing and we the one who are being “blessed” with this strange feeling, should learn more about and see if we can use this in a positive way.
Absolutely! I literally crawl out of my skin in the days prior to the full moon and the full. I can’t sleep. I can’t even just lie still. I am positive it’s full moon energy. I’m hyperactive and have been since childhood I was born with ADD, but, when the moon is full or 2 or 3 days before, I have a lot of anxiety and can’t seem to relax. Pot helps.
Everytime the moon full shines, I can’t really sleep, until 4 or 5AM or no sleep at all, unless when the weather is cloudy or raining. I am not sure why, every time, ever since as I observes. I guess I am not the only person experiencing it. Today the is soo bright and I can’t sleep again and here I am commenting.
No I’m up too
I am reading other’s comments but not one seems to have a problem 5-7 days in advance of a full moon like I do? Full moons yes often up – but 5-7 days prior to is the same. If I find myself tossing and turning I go look at the calendar. It is a week prior to a full moon…
I get it! It’s not a one night occurrence for me either.?
I Have that problem, starting before and even after the full moon, with interrupted sleep or no sleep…I wonder why ??? If Gravity has nothing to do with this then what does? Is the conditioning that severe, or is it that as children we are often made to fear things to do with the moon, or is it something else altogether???
I’m affected for about a week leading up to a full moon and during. Can’t sleep. I believe it’s to do with circadian rhythm. Perhaps instinct to hunt from past generations who had no electricity? Perhaps we need to look into that more. What other things affect our rhythms like televison or led lights. Energy fields? Wi-Fi? But for sure there is some corealation in my life. God Bless.
Came here to make sure it just wasn’t me. Around 11.30pm ready for dreamland but sleep was illusive until nearly dawn. Dug around and found a Sleeptime herbal essence to apply (this is usually quite effective) but still no joy. It was a cloudy night therefore wasn’t sure so checked this morning Yep the full moon strikes again…and we have two this month! A definite thing in my house. Being ‘the last man standing’ at 3 a.m. so bad but oddly the day doesn’t feel as exhausting as I would have imagined.
I have a 2 year old son who was sleeping very restlessly for 3 nights leading up to our latest super blue blood moon. As is the case with every full moon – he struggles to fall asleep, fusses a lot during the night and is practically wide awake from 3am.. His daytime nap is also completely out of the norm. The lunar effect is defnitely a thing in our house!
Hi.Its passed 3am and im sleepless.Obviously its full moon again.Im one of those people who is sleepless with a full moon in the sky.
My son is autistic, n every full moon, super moon, new moon, you name it, he gets into a manic state, and stays up all night, with last night’s super blood moon, eclipse being no exception, he just recently fell asleep at 11am, after talking pretty much non stop since 2am, n before that, he did something strange, out of the norm behavior, he sat quietly in front of the tv set, watching a music cd with a background, but he sat there for like 2 to 3 hours, just sitting n staring. Don’t know if I can take many more sleepless full moon nights.
It’s 3:37 a.m. Jan 3rd, 2008. It’s the night of the supermoon, fullmoon and some other kind of moon. I’m just now reading messages sent in Dec. 2017. I haven’t slept for 4 maybe 5 days now. I have been having severe back pain. I took 2 pain pills and it’s like I took nothing at all. Normally 1 pain pill would knock me out and/or at least relieved some or all of the back pain. I can always tell without looking at the moon whether it is full or close to full. I have a really hard time sleeping. It’s like the moon is pulling my eyelids open.
i have the same thing only i get severe tension headaches.
I have tension headaches but from a concussion I wonder if it’s worse cause of the fill moon. I can’t sleep either eyes wide open.
Started to realise the impact of super moons keeping me awake all night as generally I don’t struggle to fall asleep, now any time I check if I am staying awake all night if there was a super moon that night. Two instances in two months. It is not scientific, but I am now paying attention to the issue.
Full moon was Monday night, a super moon. Last night and every full moon night and about a few days after I wake at 330 and cant sleep until just about dawn.
I had read it has to do with barometric pressure due to the gravitational pull. I’m a social worker and can tell you like clockwork when clients with bipolar or other psychotic disorders will have episodes of mania. Someone please give me grant money and I’ll prove it.
Just finishing having the Wolf moon
Terrible sleep pattern for the past five nights
I am a good sleeper as a rule but have trouble sleeping during a full moon. Often dont know there is a full moon but sleeplessness gets me wandering out of bed at night and see the moon and realise that is the issue. fortunately when I go wandering I dont grow facial hair.
Hi Del
Good to hear there’s no werewolves wondering around your neighborhood! Thanks for your amusing comment:-)
Regards
Ethan
I have the lunar effect I geuss I can not sleep when theirs a full moon and today it’s not a regular full moon it’s the supermoon it is 10 pm and I have school tomorrow and I can not SLEEP at all
I couldn’t shut my eyes all night. Yikes. This is horrible.
I have experienced this for the past 10 years, guess I need to be thankful for the half night sleep that I do get with each full and new moon
Mythology, before you was
Borned, you were an oyster
Clinging to a rock. When it’s
Full moon the corals spaw at
Full Moon. So does the Corals, Mythological belief
So a big Mean crown of
Thorn Starfish came along
Gobbled up the Fat Oyster
While there was a huge Gleaming silvery shine in a
Full Moon sky. Confused
The crown of Thorn spat you
Out and slithered off into The deep. A ngardung saved
You, (saved) you and gave you to the mirrinji. The stork
Then delivered you to your
Garby. Who passed you to
Your mother to care for and
Raises up until you become
A matured man. And marry.
The an indigenous Australian dream time story
My TC.FRIEND. EHh bed Time stories. Now be a good
Boy and go to sleep for Mommy.
The super moon has given me insomnia.
When I have a sleepless night and I look at the calendar in the morning 9 out of 10 it is a full moon. I woke up beteween 3 and 4 in the morning last night and I was so awake I could have cleaned the whole house. Too cold to be up and about though…
and yes it is a full moon.
It’s so very cloudy outside & dark – I went to bed tired @ 11.20 & here I am after tossing & turning – it’s now 02.03. I looked on here to see if it was a full moon and yes it is. I have had this problem with not sleeping for 40 yrs now with a full moon – ever since I had my son.
Can never sleep on the 3 days of full moon cycle. I don’t keep track of when the full moon will be,don’t have to
Same here I have had no sleep at all for 3 days since the 15th wondered why now I know it was new moon on 18th November 2017
I now have a bad headache hitting me in the eyes
Nomusa
? Full Moon and I even felt sleepy before coming to bed but after laying here for 2 hrs still awake. I have now taken two sleep aides and I’m still wide awake!!
I was awake from 2.00am onward although very tired from yesterday…I only realized it was a full moon afterwards…I’ve frequently experienced full-moon-insomnia too…more often as I go into old-age…Frances NSW Australia
It’s 2:47am Central time. I can’t sleep. It’s a full moon.
It’s 12:36 on the east coast and I can’t sleep either.
Me too. I’m in Melbourne Australia and lying here like a ‘Luna-tic’.
It’s 4.28am and I’m still awake….I have been experiencing difficulty sleeping when there’s a full moon for years! There is comfort in knowing I’m not alone.