Moon may influence sleep, study finds

Even if moonlight isn't streaming through your curtains, the phase of the moon may affect how well you sleepScience and myth rarely agree, but new research suggests that the lunar cycle could have an effect on the quality of sleep.The study by researchers at the University of Basel in Switzerland found that even in the absence of moonlight, participants slept less deeply and for shorter periods during the full moon than at other lunar phases. It is a phenomenon already known in other organisms as the "circalunar rhythm", but has never before been shown in humans.Christian Cajochen, who was the lead researcher on the study, said: "A lot of people complain about bad sleep during moon stages, or they claim that 'it was the moon', and there's a lot of myth involved. We decided to go back in our old data to see whether we could effectively quantify such an effect."Previous research has found no association between the phases of the moon and human physiology or behaviour. "While I'm quite cautious and sceptical about the data myself, I have to say after a proper statistical analysis that, to our surprise, we found something there," said Cajochen. "There is a circalunar influence."The brain pattern, eye movements and hormone secretion of volunteers were studied while they slept. Participants were also asked for subjective assessments of their sleep quality.The results, published in Current Biology, showed that around the full moon, subjects' brain activity associated with deep sleep...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Biology World news The moon Health guardian.co.uk & wellbeing Human biology Society UK news Life and style Sleep Science Source Type: news