Solar activity affects a person - this is proven by science. But there is no consensus regarding the phases of the moon, and, first of all, the full moon. This issue is hotly debated, and a lot of research is being done. How a satellite of a planet can affect its inhabitants.
Trouble in the maternity hospital
A rich mythology has developed around the full moon, there are many signs. Some still believe that vampires and werewolves are active these days. Animals and people become restless, mental illness worsens, sleep is disturbed.
On a full moon, dogs bite more often and car accidents occur, people die, aggressiveness increases - these beliefs have already formed today.
Nurses in maternity wards complain that they have to work harder on full moon because women are more likely to give birth. Scientists from Germany decided to check this statement.
After analyzing the birth data in the country from 1920 to 1989, they did not find any statistically significant dependence of the number of births on the phases of the moon. But they found a correlation with the number of sunspots.
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Who howls at the moon
The moon revolves around the earth in an elliptical orbit. The satellite is always turned to us with only one side. The earth is illuminated by sunlight reflected from the moon. When the disc is most visible, it is the full moon phase. In November, it fell on the 23rd.
As the shadow created by the mutual position of the Earth, the Sun and the Moon creeps onto the satellite, its disk contracts to a thin crescent and then grows again - the new moon phase begins. In addition, there are two intermediate phases: the first and the last quarter. The period during which the moon goes through a full cycle is called the lunar month. This is an average of 29.5 days.
There is evidence that the phases of the moon affect bees, fish, some birds and amphibians. Perhaps changing the brightness of the disc at night somehow regulates the level of melatonin, a brain hormone responsible for circadian rhythms (daytime activity cycle). In the full moon, the hormone is produced more strongly, respectively, the activity of the animal changes. As for mammals, scientists have conducted experiments only with laboratory rodents. They also noticed a change in melatonin levels.
What could be the physical mechanism of the influence of the phases of the moon on the body? Among the hypotheses: tidal forces, electromagnetic radiation.
The degree of shading of the disk is due to the relative position of the Moon, Earth and Sun.
The operation is postponed
Scientists have always been interested in the influence of the lunar cycle on human health and behavior, but there is no data confirming this connection. For example, 11 percent of Germans believe that their life depends on the phases of the moon. There is a sign that it is better to postpone a kidney transplant operation if it falls on a full moon. The fact is that among astrologers, the kidneys are associated with Libra, one of the lunar zodiacal signs.
Scientists from Germany selected 178 case histories of patients who received kidney transplants from 1994 to 2009. The date of the operation was correlated with the phases of the moon and the period when it is visible in the constellation Libra. They checked the mortality rate, the person's well-being after the operation and his health over the next years. No dependence on the lunar cycle or location in Libra was found.
Researchers from Lithuania did a similar work with regard to 186 patients who were admitted to surgery for the treatment of an intracranial aneurysm rupture from 2011 to 2014. The result is also negative.
Scientists from the University of Nebraska (USA) tested how various environmental factors, including the lunar cycle and supermoon, affect the exacerbation of urolithiasis. The researchers analyzed 559 patient stories from a local clinic, but found no connection to the Moon. Most of the attacks occurred on ordinary days and only 16.1 percent on full moons.
Anatomical and astrological person. The sign of Libra is responsible for the kidneys.
The moon is a delicate matter
Nor is the myth of mental disorders aggravated at the full moon confirmed. In the United States studied 1857 cases of hospitalization for emergency psychiatric care. The challenges were evenly distributed across all lunar phases.
The authors of the work do not deny that the Moon affects the psyche, but the effect is so small that it cannot be measured by scientific methods.
Curious data are given in the article by Australian scientists. After analyzing the dates of hospitalization by ambulance at the Calvari Mater Clinic Newcastle, the researchers found that 23 percent of seriously ill patients arrive on a full moon. Patients fight with staff, kick, spit. But the milder cases of disorders are not associated with the phases of the moon.
Scientists from Canada refute the myth about the influence of the Earth's satellite on people with mental disorders. In their opinion, the researchers come to different conclusions, because they consider the duration of the full moon differently: 12 hours, 24 hours or three days.
Dogs bite on a full moon just like they do on normal days, according to another study using the example of Australia.
The number of footballers' injuries does not depend on the lunar cycle. This was checked by scientists from Tunisia and Qatar on the case histories of members of the professional Premier League of Qatar.
Hospital admissions due to dog bites and moon phases. The numbers in brackets - how many full moons fell on these days of the week.
Who sleeps worse
Scientists have not ignored the widespread opinion about sleep disturbance on a full moon. For example, a group from the United States and Canada examined this issue using the example of indigenous peoples - Hadza hunter-gatherers in Africa and agriculturalists in Madagascar. It turned out that hadza sleep less during the full moon and are more active during the day, with the onset of the new moon their routine is more like an owl's. At the same time, the quality of sleep does not depend in any way on the lunar cycle.
Researchers from Switzerland recruited 33 volunteers for 64 nights (total). During sleep, they received electroencephalograms (EEG) of the brain. It turned out that on a full moon sleep is worse: shorter by twenty minutes, the time to fall asleep, on the contrary, increased by five minutes. Duration of deep slow delta sleep decreased by thirty percent.
Scientists from Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands could not reproduce this result. According to the authors of the article, it is incorrect to draw conclusions based on 33 subjects. Taking information from hundreds of people from three different sleep research institutes and superimposing it on the phases of the moon, the researchers found no relationship.
Falling asleep times and moon phases. Survey and EEG data for 64 nights. Colored dots represent different groups of people. Pink, blue - young women and men, white and gray - old women and men.
Tatiana Pichugina