28 January 2021
by: Shannon Kelleher
The moon may not drive people mad or trigger werewolf transformations, but lunar cycles do, in fact, appear to affect human biology by influencing menstrual and sleep cycles, according to two studies published in the January 29 issue of
Science Advances.
An analysis of sleep cycles in rural and urban indigenous Argentinians as well as urban U.S. university students found that people fall asleep later and sleep less on the nights leading up to a full moon, when moonlight fills the night sky after dusk. The findings suggest that human sleep is synchronized with the moon s phases regardless of ethnic or cultural differences and even in locations where light pollution outshines moonlight.
How the full moon might be making your sleep WORSE as scientists discover link to lunar phases
Charlotte Edwards, Digital Technology and Science Reporter
28 Jan 2021, 13:32
Updated: 26 Feb 2021, 16:49
Charlotte Edwards, Digital Technology and Science Reporter
Invalid Date,
A FULL Moon could be giving you a worse night s sleep, according to a new study.
Scientists have linked the lunar cycle to sleeping patterns – and say the Moon s changing brightness could be to blame for a lack of sleep.
3
A new study suggests the Moon phases can change how long we sleep forCredit: Getty Images - Getty
The news came ahead of a Full Moon tomorow evening, which could cause restless nights for some.
Phases of Moon May Influence Duration of Sleep, Menstrual Cycles, Scientists Say in New Study
FOLLOW US ON:
A new study suggests that the myth about the Moon influencing menstrual cycles and sleeping patterns may be true after all. According to a study conducted by scientists from the University of Washington, National University of Quilmes, and Yale University, it has been found that moon phases affect our duration of sleep and menstruation patterns in the female reproductive system.
The paper, published in Science Advances on January 27 suggests that sleep cycles in people fluctuates during the 29.5-day lunar cycle. In the days leading up to a full moon, people go to sleep later in the evening and sleep for shorter periods of time, says the study. The research team consisted of seven scientists: Horacio O. de la Iglesia, Leandro Casiraghi, Ignacio Spiousas, Gideon P. Dunster, Kaitlyn McGlothlen, Eduardo Fernández-Duque, and Claudia Valeggia. To draw their results, the research
Your sleep could be dictated by the phases of the moon, a study says
The moon dictates the pushes and pulls of the tides, but it could also affect our sleep.
As we head toward the first full moon of the year on Thursday night, take note: In the days leading up to a full moon, people go to bed later and sleep less, according to a study published in Science Advances on Wednesday.
On average, participants went to bed 30 minutes later and slept 50 minutes less on nights before a full moon, said study coauthor Horacio de la Iglesia, professor at the department of biology at the University of Washington in Seattle.
Credit: University of Washington
For centuries, humans have blamed the moon for our moods, accidents and even natural disasters. But new research indicates that our planet s celestial companion impacts something else entirely our sleep.
In a paper published Jan. 27 in
Science Advances, scientists at the University of Washington, the National University of Quilmes in Argentina and Yale University report that sleep cycles in people oscillate during the 29.5-day lunar cycle: In the days leading up to a full moon, people go to sleep later in the evening and sleep for shorter periods of time. The research team, led by UW professor of biology Horacio de la Iglesia, observed these variations in both the time of sleep onset and the duration of sleep in urban and rural settings from Indigenous communities in northern Argentina to college students in Seattle, a city of more than 750,000. They saw the oscillations regardless of an individual s access to electricity, though the variation