Does a full moon have any effect on a person's emotional or mental well being?

Answer 1

yes we are affected by the lunar tides.

and if you are a woman you are especially tied to the lunar tides.

Answer 2

Full Moons are traditionally associated with temporal insomnia, insanity (hence the terms lunacy and lunatic) and various magical phenomena such as lycanthropy. On a full moon the moon is in opposition to the sun, thus indicating that one's inner world of feelings and outer persona and expression may be in conflict with each other.

Psychologists have found that there is no strong evidence for effects on behaviour around Full Moon [1]. They find that studies are not consistent, with some showing a positive effect, while others will show a negative effect. In one instance, the December 23, 2000 issue of the British Medical Journal published two studies on dog bite admission to hospitals in England and Australia. The study of the Bradford Royal Infirmary found that dog bites were twice as common at Full Moon, while the study of public hospitals in Australia found they were less likely at Full Moon. Psychologists point out that there is a difference between correlation and causation. The mere fact that two events happen at the same time doesn't mean that there is a cause and effect relationship between the two.

Answer 3

I've read some of the other answers and agree with many of them-- yes, the moon is mysterious (even though astronauts landed on it, it retains that mystery), romantic, and even a little scary. Those alone affect our well-being. It has to do with how we feel about the moon, beliefs over the course of humanity, and more. Does anyone even really know why a woman's menstrual cycle happens to be 28 days, the same as the moon's cycle? Is it coincidence or is there some grand design involved? And does that really matter-- that's the real question.
It comes back to the same point-- the moon affects us because we feel something about it. People look up and like to see it there in the sky, or, for some, it's scary. People feel romance or intrigue or are even just glad there is a little more light in the night sky. Think about it-- how would you feel if the moon just vanished. It seems so trivial, but it is so much a part of our existence that we don't even think about it, like breathing and maybe more necessary than we even realize. So, in conclusion, we are affected by the moon, depending on how it makes us feel as individuals.

Answer 4

Psychologists have found that there is no strong evidence for effects on behaviour around Full Moon [1]. They find that studies are not consistent, with some showing a positive effect, while others will show a negative effect. In one instance, the December 23, 2000 issue of the British Medical Journal published two studies on dog bite admission to hospitals in England and Australia. The study of the Bradford Royal Infirmary found that dog bites were twice as common at Full Moon, while the study of public hospitals in Australia found they were less likely at Full Moon. Psychologists point out that there is a difference between correlation and causation. The mere fact that two events happen at the same time doesn't mean that there is a cause and effect relationship between the two.

Answer 5

Long ago, I used to cover the police beat for a community newspaper group. I noticed, when reading the "police blotter", that there seemed to be a significantly higher number of calls the cops went out on, when it was a full-moon night. I think I also heard this from an officer from another department as well. Interesting!

As some of the other folks here said, perhaps people feel and/or act "loony" because of the placebo effect -- they THINK the full moon should affect them, so it DOES. However, I tend to think there is at least SOME truth to the idea that we are affected by the full moon. And hasn't it all but been proven that women living out in the "wild" (i.e. indiginous tribes of Africa and S. America) tend to all menstruate around the full moon?

Answer 6

The full moon definitely has an effect on peoples behaviors.
As a hospital nurse, the staff and I would always watch the moon cycles because when the full moon would occur we would be horrendously busy with sick people. This is true also in mental health institutions and in law enforcement. Just ask a any police officer about the crime rate on a full moon night. The planets govern our existence and behavior, we just do not know yet as to how this occurrs.

Answer 7

Yes I know it does. The moon is a strange thing. If it can bring in the tide of the ocean what do you think it can do to the water on some ones brain. I worked in a nursing home on night shift for years. The residents at the home live their just fine, just normal old people problems. But the night of a full moon, the ones that can't walk are trying to get up and walk, they are ringing their buzzards that call us to their rooms all night just for the heck of it and then not remembering why they called us. Cursing us for no reason. Then when the full moon is gone they don't do that. I do feel it has an effect.

Answer 8

I think there may be something, not everything in life is scientific as many people are stating, lots of things are psychological which is why we have things like placebos. A full moon may indeed have a psychological effect on someone depending what they believe or it may even have a spiritual effect which science cannot measure nor detect. It's definately a beautiful thing to see and can trigger emotions in people. If someone use to watch the full moon with someone else who passed away they may cry when seeing another one and other situations like that. So it does have an effect on us in one way or another. People who aren't in touch with nature and feel nothing towards it may not feel any different but those who are do.

Answer 9

The moon is a strange thing. If it can bring in the tide of the ocean what do you think it can do to the water on some ones brain. I worked in a nursing home on night shift for years. The residents at the home live their just fine, just normal old people problems. But the night of a full moon, the ones that can't walk are trying to get up and walk, they are ringing their buzzards that call us to their rooms all night just for the heck of it and then not remembering why they called us. Cursing us for no reason. Then when the full moon is gone they don't do that. I do feel it has an effect.

Answer 10

I have a three part time jobs, all of which put me in contact with a diverse population. When I substitute teach at any grade level up to high school, the other teachers always tell me that the full moon definitely effects the behavior of kids. I've seen big changes in the weather do the same thing. Kids seem to get more active, contentious, and less willing to cooperate with their teachers and one another around that time of the month.
In the greenhouse business, we tend to see a lot of people who are very aware of the seasonal changes around them, including moon phases. The Boss always jokes that the public and the employees behave differently during the full moon.
In the exercise classes I instruct, most participants are women and many of them feel physical changes that coincide with moon phases.
I don't know that I'm totally convinced, but the circumstantial evidence points to a yes.

Answer 11

YES! Research has been done and not only are more babies born during a full moon but More mental episodes occur at that same time. Ask anyone that has worked in a hospital (regular) or mental.

Believe it or not: women are especially affected by the moon..the child birth part and even menstrual cycles so it is reasonable to assume that mental attitude is also tied in. Don't get me wrong: it's not just women that are affected by full moons.There's a reason for the word lunar to be so close to the word loonies.