Full Moon to be Blamed for Sleep Troubles

If you find yourself still awake at 1 AM twisting, turning and tossing yourself in the bed making an effort to sleep but aren't able to then it might be because your sleep pattern is affected by the full moon.

The scientists at the University of Basel, Switzerland, were able to conclude the effect of lunar influence after analysing 33 volunteers who were sleeping in a controlled laboratory condition. The researchers noticed a drop in the melatonin that is associated with the biological clock, reports BBC.

In the past it was considered that moon cycles alter a person's sleep and mood. Moon cycles were also linked to aggression.  However, most of these studies were inconclusive due to the improper statistic, inconsistent methods and biases. This is the first data that really confirms the potential lunar effects of people's sleep pattern, reports Sciencemag.org.

"The lunar cycle seems to influence human sleep, even when one does not 'see' the Moon and is not aware of the actual moon phase. Some people may be exquisitely sensitive to the Moon," biologist Christian Cajochen of the University of Basel in Switzerland, lead author was quoted in BBC.

In this study, when the participants were in the dark their body produced extra melatonin and this number dropped in the presence of light. A person's normal melatonin cycles can be altered on being exposed to extra light in the evening or less light in the day.

The study participants were not aware of the purpose of the study and they spent two nights at the lab in a room from where they could not see the moon. With the help of electroencephalograms (EEG), the researchers measured the brain activity.

The researchers noticed that the participant's brain activity linked to deep sleep reduced by a third on days close to a full moon. They also noticed a drop in the melatonin levels. On a full moon day, the participants slept 20 minutes less and took extra five minutes to go to sleep.

 The researchers used this data and matched it with their past data and found strong evidence between lunar influence and poor sleep pattern.

"There is a such a strong cultural story around the full Moon that it would not be surprising if it has an effect. It's one of these folk things that you would suspect has a germ of truth," U.K. sleep expert Dr. Neil Stanley said. "It's up to science now to find out what's the cause of why we might sleep differently when there's a full Moon."

This study was published in the journal Current Biology.