Full moon! Any scientific evidence of its affect on man?

Question

Write it in layman's terms please. I don't have a PHD. Thanks for answering.

The moon affects the tiedes and we are made mostly out of water, any relavance?

Answer 1

Ur additional information is correct. The moon's gravity is what causes Earth's oceans to form tides (moon's gravity vs earth's gravity). Since our bodies are composed of 80% water and a human's brain is submerged in (biological) liquids, we are affected just as well.

Answer 2

The only scientific effect is the gravitational effect. At full moon the moon is on the opposite side of Earth to the Sun, so there are opposing tidal forces upon you. This is scientific fact. However, whether it makes any difference to your psyche or your health is not scientifically proven. As far as the effect from the brightness - if you haven't got thick drapes or blinds in your bedroom, it is bound to affect your sleep patterns. I live rurally and I have noticed several times when there has been a full moon that the local blackbird has started singing in the night. I reckon the silly bugger has woken up and assumed the moonlight is a signal for dawn. So, yes, the light must make a difference to our sleep patterns, which will affect us physically and psychologically.

Answer 3

No. There is no scientific evidence that the phases of the moon affect anything besides the light level at night.

Answer 4

Many people blame hyperactivity or just anomolous behavior in general on a full Moon. I don't know that the re is much scientific evidence for a full Moon affecting emotions or behavior, but I do know that during a full Moon, some strange things go on...for instance, it has been documented that during a full Moon, more baby animals are born than any other time during a month.
The most popular belief is that the full moon causes strange or extreme human behavior – hence, the words “loony” and “lunatic” which derive from the Latin word for moon. This myth was so well established that lawyers previously used the influence of the moon as a justification for their client’s abnormal behavior. Defendants accused of a crime might claim “moon madness” as a form of temporary insanity.


“Lunacy laws” were on the official books in England. Robert Louis Stevenson's classic Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was inspired by the true story of Charles Hyde who committed murders at the time of the full moon and was acquitted when the moon was used for his defense. You can read this classic tale online, here

While that argument would not hold up in a court today, it’s still accepted that prisons, and hospitals, especially those for the mentally ill, experience resident discontent and trouble on the full moon. A pseudoscientific explanation for “moon madness” is that the moon affects people in a similar way that it affects the oceans, causing tides. This is not justified by natural laws, however, since the human body is too small to be significantly influenced by the moon’s pull. Through simple physics calculations, we can show that the earth’s gravitational influence on the human body is huge compared to the small influence of a far-away object like the moon.

A simpler explanation is that a full moon on a clear, cloudless night is bright and obvious. A night like that is less conducive to sleep and could well have been a busy time in a hospital or asylum. In addition, the widespread belief of lunar effects may prompt those who notice the full moon and are prone to erratic behavior to use it as an excuse. Movies and books have also used the moon as an important “character” in stories. Humans are rather suggestible to these notions. These ideas, even without having a basis in fact, become so commonplace in our society that they are accepted as true.


Over 100 studies have been published attempting to correlate the phases of the moon to all types of incidents – accidents, murders, births, aggression at a hockey game, psychiatric episodes, disasters, earthquakes, etc. – but for every one that correlates positively, there is one that shows no effect. Why might that be? If the effect of the moon on humans were real, wouldn’t doctors have been able to document this obvious cycle in behavior a long time ago?

Before artificial lighting, people could be more active outside during a full moon night. This is perhaps where the association with bad behavior may have started. Disturbed and sleepless individuals may have had a hard time keeping still inside when it was a bright night outside. You can see how the werewolf myth may have started from here as well.

How can you study the effect of the moon on people and animals since everything on earth would necessarily be influenced by it? You would have to do an experiment with some of your subjects on earth and put some test subjects on Venus! (Somehow I don’t think that experiment would work out well.)

Lunar effect

Surveys have revealed that roughly half of the population in the U.S. believes that the moon has an influence on human behavior. In 1978, Arnold Lieber, a psychiatrist, labeled this influence the “lunar effect”.

Popular folklore and the media often reinforce this belief. News stories, novels and movies can promote the connection between a full moon and odd incidents. However, science does not support it.

Scientific equations show us why the moon causes tidal changes in oceans. But, there are essentially no tidal effects in smaller, enclosed bodies of water such as lakes, ponds, or the human body (of which water is a significant portion). After many decades of controlled medical studies for all sorts of behavior, hormones, emotion, etc., patterns directly relating to lunar cycles have not been found. Specific studies investigating moon phases versus crime, birth rates, sleepwalking, violence or disasters have either found no relationship or have serious shortcomings.

In the 1980’s, skeptical investigators Kelly, Rotton and Culver, who analyzed the studies that allegedly showed a link between moon cycles and human behavior, revealed that reports of lunar effect contained inappropriate, misleading or erroneous statistics, inappropriate use of data or test procedures or improper controls. The “positive” studies are even inconsistent with each other as to which phase of the moon is most influential.

Unfortunately, many people consider very unreliable sources as accurate information. But, widespread belief in something does not mean it actually exists. People are more likely to notice things that support their belief and ignore that which does not. Plus, people tend to hold tight to certain ideas, ignoring the logic and evidence that contradicts them. Thus, it looks like the “lunar effect” will be slow to wane.

Answer 5

Nothing really scientific, but law enforcement would give you a strong argument that crime increases during the full moon phase.

Answer 6

Half off all people are born on the full moon or the day after. I'm sure you can look that up. Maternity wards plan for it. Admits to looney bins spike on full moons. We plan for that, too.

I worked in a Nursing Home when I was a CNA. I can attest to that one, too.

Answer 7

The emergency room my friend works at definately shows scientific evidence that on a full moon it is CHAOS in the E.R.........

Answer 8

just go to any nursing home in the united states and ask the staff. Every full moon our worst demented residents cut up the worse.........
scientific enough for me !

Answer 9

visit discovery channel project