People Sleep 20 Minutes Less on a Full Moon Night: Study

Lunar cycle has a direct influence on our sleep, confirms a study.

Astrological theories say that during full moon people undergo dramatic mood fluctuations and face high levels of stress and they resume their normal state once the lunar cycle transcends to the new moon phase.  Folklore also suggests full moon impacts human sleep. A Swedish research conducted last year investigated the phenomenon. They found people sleep 20 minutes lesser, require five extra minutes to fall asleep and also experience 30 minutes of REM sleep during full moon.

The experts at the Sahlgrenka Academy observed 47 healthy participants aged between 18 and 30 and discovered an interrelation between moon cycle and sleep.

"Our study generated findings similar to the Swiss project. Subjects slept an average of 20 minutes less and had more trouble falling asleep during the full moon phase. However, the greatest impact on REM sleep appeared to be during the new moon," said Michael Smith, study author and researcher at the Sahlgrenska Academy, in a news release.

Human brain undergoes external disturbances in the full moon phase and increased activation in the cerebral cortex. In the current research, men more than women complained of having difficulty getting sleep and also slept less. But, this observation was criticized as the age of participants and their exposure to light while sleeping also influences sleep quality and duration.

The authors supported their findings as the rooms where the trial was held did not have any windows to cause light exposure and disturbances while the subjects were asleep.

 "So the effect we found cannot be attributable to increased nocturnal light during full moon. Thus, there may be a built-in biological clock that is affected by the moon, similar to the one that regulates the circadian rhythm. But all this is mere speculation additionally, more highly controlled studies that target these mechanisms are needed before more definitive conclusions can be drawn," said Smith.

More information is available online in the journal Current Biology.