Science & Technology

Can the moon really affect human behavior ?

By T.K. Randall
May 11, 2016

Image: Eugene Cernan on the Moon During the Apollo 17 Mission
Credit: Harrison Schmitt (1972) / (PD) NASA The phases of the moon have long held spiritual and metaphysical significance for mankind and even today remain associated with everything from bouts of erratic behavior to sleep deprivation.

Now though, in a renewed bid to find out if the moon really can make a difference to how we behave, a team of researchers from the Eastern Ontario Research Institute have analyzed the sleeping patterns of 5,812 children during several different phases of the moon.Conducted over 28 months, the study found that there was a mere 5 minute difference between the average amount of sleep recorded during a full moon and that recorded during a new moon.

"Our study provides compelling evidence that the moon does not seem to influence people's behavior," said Dr. Jean-Philippe Chaput. "The only significant finding was the 1% sleep alteration in full moon, and this is largely explained by our large sample size that maximizes statistical power."

"Overall, I think we should not be worried about the full moon. Our behaviors are largely influenced by many other factors like genes, education, income and psychosocial aspects rather than by gravitational forces."

Source: EurekAlert.org

Tags: Full Moon