Have you noticed people act weird at this time of the month? (Picture: Getty)
You’ve probably heard that the Moon affects the ocean’s tides, and there’s also a long-held theory (still being researched by scientists) that our periods sync with the lunar cycle.
Among the many tales told about that big orb in the sky, it’s said that a Full Moon can change people’s moods, making them feel slightly off-balance and causing them to behave erratically.
Anecdotally, you’ll find hundreds accounts of weird goings-on at this time.
My dad – who is a massive sceptic about these things – works night shifts at a train station, and says that people are consistently more violent and out of sorts when the Moon is at its fullest.
Astrologers also believe this period represents a peak of energy, with different months having different spiritual connotations. June’s, for example, is known as a Strawberry Moon, and is said to encourage expressions of love, purity, and prosperity.
But it turns out it’s not just stories and divination; there is a real correlation between Full Moons and strange behaviour.
As far back as the ancient Greeks, many were of the opinion that the Moon played a big part in our lives.
Aristotle hypothesised it was responsible for epilepsy and mental illness, and this was a common belief for centuries, with people up until 1700 thinking that the extra light from the Full Moon would leave people sleep deprived, causing them to act oddly as a result.
Even after this time, well respected medics were convinced that certain illnesses were exacerbated by the Moon’s cycles. In fact, the word lunatic even derives from the Latin lunaticus, meaning ‘of the moon’ or ‘moonstruck’.
In this day and age, though, we’re all about science, requiring incontrovertible empirical evidence to prove how Earth’s natural satellite screws its inhabitants up – and there’s plenty of it.
June’s Full Moon is known as the Strawberry Moon (Picture: Getty Images)
An entry in the Journal of Criminal Psychology looked at incidences of crime during different lunar phases, finding that incidences of homicides and aggravated assaults spiked massively during a Full Moon.
Sleep is affected too, as proven by a 2013 study which recorded ‘lower sleep quality… less deep slow-wave sleep… and lower evening melatonin levels 0–4 days around the Full Moon compared to the other lunar classes.’ This was even when other factors (such as light and biases about lunar phases) were removed.
Additionally, psychiatrist Thomas Wehr spent many years studying patients with bipolar and concluded that their mood swings directly correlate with the moon.
There’s a lot of conflicting information in the scientific community, with results often being hard to replicate and therefore prove definitively.
Even studies showing clear links between us and that big lad that comes out each night have had to stop short of explaining the underlying reasons behind how the Moon can change our moods.
Light from the Sun and Moon might be to blame for changes (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Some have come to the conclusion that it’s down to the …read more
Source:: Metro
