The moon orbits the earth all the time, but why does the light reflected from the sun at a full-moon cause more influence on people than usual?

Moon affects moods and also the tides.

Makes sense. Our bodies are comprised of 90% water.

I watch a show several years ago where a police officer said “more crimes tend to happen during a full moon.”

I thought it was 70%....

That's where lunatic and lunacy stem from. People are thought to be affected by the moon.

They say that people are more happier in the summer than in the winter. Also peoples moods change when the mornings are darker in the winter than the light mornings in the summer.

Makes sense, no one likes waking in the morning when it is dark, because you feel as if you are getting up to early.

70- 90. Whatever.

The reason for this has to do with light. When sunlight hits the eyes, serotonin is released in the brain.

What, we're all meant to sway back and forth like the tide...? this is what you are saying..?

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a kind of winter depression affecting an estimated half a million people between September and April. It can be particularly severe during December, January and February.

For some people, SAD is so disabling that they cannot function in winter without continuous treatment. Others may experience a milder version called sub-syndromal SAD or 'winter blues'. SAD may begin at any age, but it most commonly starts between 18 and 30.


Source

No. More like cause some chemical imbalance in our brain or body.

I think he means that because we have so much water in our bodies, the moon should affect us.

Yea, that as well.

I have read a suggestion that due to our caveman past, we have an inbuilt awareness that helps us to stay alert during a full-moon.

Not that I agree. I am just totally amazed that the moon can affect people like this. I mean, why do women menstrate every 28 days? (Don't answer that LOL)

We are obviously tuned into the moon's cycles whether we realise it or not IMO.

Yeah, I think that the "phases" of the moon do effect people.

I don't know about any of the females here, but it does effect that time of the month. I know...gross! But, hey, we are all mature people here, right? Also ya asked.

Also Shaun brought up a very valid statement...seasons have an effect. But for me...it's the opposite. I do better when I see the sun rise after being up for awhile. Also summer's here in northern CA tend to be very long & drawn out. I prefer the fall/winter weather.

40nrockinon

So if the moon and the sun are on opposite sides of the earth, like when it is a full-moon, I presume that our chemicals and hormones in our bodies work the same as the tides, rise and fall.

Honestly I think that this is false.. The moon has no effect on moods whatsoever. The source was a site called www.moodalert.com which, to my understanding, uses belief in this to gain hits. And what does our body being made of 70% water have to do with anything?

Hormones are produced by the body and not stored in seas inside of us, so the moon has no effect on "tides" of hormones. Its like saying that stationary water in a pipe has a tide...

Generally, people dislike winter and like summer. This is because during winter it is cold, crops cannot be grown, there is less sunshine, high dependance on goods stored from summer and is more "dangerous". In my opinion this is a primodial instinct that people have carried for millenia.

The moon has absolutely no power of causing chemical imalances in our brain or body. This is obvious because if it did, it would do the same in normal chemistry, etc., but it simply does not.

The moon has no effect at all on menstration, it coincidentially just has the same frequency of 28 days.

Also, literature and cultural factors (eg: werewolf) may have an effect on the way that people think about the full moon. If a murder takes place on a normal night, noone takes special notice, but if it happens on a full moon, people will notice. Also, the full moon in itself is very impressive, making people think about it and draw conclusions about its origins, effects, etc.

In reality, it is just a big heap of rock spinning around the earth, explicable by simple physics.

The moon effects water. The tides, etc.

The moon's gravity affects everything, including land. Land just does not have tides because it is solid.

Captain Obvious strikes again.

PS-Please refrain from using expletives in a thread. It's against forum rules anyway.

Sorry

Yes, that was obvious, but it just seemed to me that people thought that the moon exclusively affected water.

That's all right, but the tides are like a cycle. Menstruation, is a cycle, etc. Both monthly. The land too is affected, but not cyclically.

It would be an interesting exercise to note in a diary when our moods change. Here is a link where people answered the question "Can mood swings be connected to the moon phases?"

Well, you can connect mood changes with the lunar cycle if you want to. If you believe that the moon can change your mood, and you have a mood change on a full mooned night, you will automatically connect it to the moon. But you could do the same with just about anything, for example, cheese.

I do not understand what tides have to do with mood changes. Was it related to the mood swings or was it a seperate issue?

Your emotions stem from your brain. You have water inside your skull. When some people get dehydrated, they get a headache. Perhaps there is a theory that the full moon is affecting the chemicals in your brain. The sun definitely does with the chemical serotonin. The light produces more of it. And the moon is reflecting the sun. That's why in winter people may get depressed (SADS).

That was exactly why I posted this thread. In my opinion moods are affected by the moon, and we are trying to figure out why.

The fact that we have water in our brains is irrelevant. Even if our brains were based mainly on dried rice powder, they would undergo the same gravitational forces imposed by the moon. However, light from the moon might have an effect on the brain:

"The first light of dawn stimulates the retina of your eye to make serotonin, which in turn activates your pineal gland, deep within your brain, to make even more serotonin."
"With the decline of light at dusk, the retina of your eye begins to turn serotonin into melatonin. This in turn activates your pineal gland to do the same."
- http://www.truestarhealth.com/members/cm_a...13ML3P1A21.html

Soo.. maby the moon does the same/opposite? Melatonin has not been known to cause mood changes, it mainly just makes you tired and stimulates the production of growth hormones..

This still does not explain how tides affect peoples' moods though. The full moon and new moon are two opposite extremes, and therefore should have opposite effects, but both times are said to bring about times of stress....

If you actually *read* this thread, you would have noticed I said that in the beginning of the thread.

As for the "stress" I'm sure people will figure that out eventually. There was a piece in a book about Ted Bundy (the serial killer) and the dates that he killed his victims. It wasn't exactly the cycles of the moon but having to do with moon signs I think.

As the moon orbit around the sun, its perigee is 0.0024 AU (363,104 km) and apogee is 0.0027 AU(405,696 km). Now we all know that the gravitational force exerted upon by two objects on one another depend on the distance between the two objects. So you expect the gravitational force to be greater when the moon and earth is close to one another and vise versa.

True hormones in our bodies are not stored in seas and thus cannot be explained by the same principal as the changes in the sea tides during the phases of the moon. But how are the hormones in our body produced? This is done through the neurons in our brains; which then sends a signal to the pituitary gland to secrete the hormones. The neurons are electrically charges and are effected static, electricity and EMF. Electromagnetic force is component of gravity (from Einstein unified theory) and thus higher the gravity, higher EMF. And if there is an increase in EMF during the position of the moon, it should in turn effect the neurons in our brain and thus effecting secretion of hormones in the pituitary gland.


Rohn

I read every single post of this thread, including the one you are referring to. That post was talking about why people were happier in the summer, and did not connect it in any way with the moon. I was aware of the fact you had said it before, but it was crucial in the expression of my point.

Rohn's explenation seems the strongest so far. I would go with that.

Excellent information there!! Finally I feel like my original question might be answered. Thanks for that LOL

I'm talking about the serotonin, *look* what I quoted. And then you said the same thing about serotonin, which was pointless, because I already said it.

Btw, great post, rohnds

I know you were talking about seretonin. You were talking about people being happier in summer because the sun causes the sucretion of seretonin. It was necessary to talk about seretonin because otherwise my post made no sense. I was talking about seretonin and the moon, you talked about seretonin and summer

I was thinking about the fact that humans have evolved with gravity from the sun which would obviously affect our bodies.

We sleep when our earth rotates away from the sun, and hormones are released in our brains at certain times of the night.

Perhaps once the moon is on the opposite side of the planet away from the sun, so that we have two gravitational forces, one during the day and one at night. This could affect our hormones, causing moodswings and menstral cycles.

Just thoughts...

Look what I bolded. It's also in relation to the sunlight reflecting from the moon. It's common knowledge, why would I have to bring that up? I'm responding to one person's post, and being on topic of the original post. Put two and two together.