Full moons are a symbol of abundance, release, and renewal. The prefix “lun-” has Latin origins, meaning “moon,” and is found in words such as “lunar” and “lunacy.” Lunacy is a word used to describe immense foolishness or irrationality, but why is such a word connected to human behavior? Hailee Kim (11) rejects the idea, stating, “I don’t believe in the theory that the full moon makes people more aggressive; in fact, I feel calmer.” However, the question still stands: does the moon truly affect human irrationality?
Human folklore and mythology have mentioned the effect of the moon on human behavior. The saying “it must be a full moon” is used to signify unusual occurrences. Cleveland Clinic dates the use of the word “lunacy” back to the 15th century, connecting the phases of the moon to human aggression and personality. The Cleveland Clinic continues to develop this idea, where folklore and mythology either praise and worship the moon for its symbolism or explore the terrifying tale of werewolves.
Physically, there is also support for this idea. By Newton’s Universal Law of Gravitation, every body in the universe exerts a force on any other body, completely disregarding distance. While distance does affect the strength of the gravitational force, even the largest of distances cannot negate the gravitational pull of a body. This effect is obvious in the ocean’s tides.
NASA explains this phenomenon as the moon’s gravity tugging on the Earth, thus shifting its mass and changing the shape of the Earth. While it is the part of the Earth closest to the moon that bulges towards the moon, every body of water is pulled towards the moon, bulging out on the side closest and farthest to the moon. These bulges create high tides, and the shallow areas, which are not directly facing the moon, create low tides. Knowing this universal law, if the force of gravity can easily shift the mass of large water bodies, can the minuscule masses of water in humans also be affected?
Cleveland Clinic believes this is not the case; in fact, it claims any behavior change may be independent of the moon. This theory is mostly supported by the fact that the human body is 55%-78% water; thus, it is susceptible to the moon as much as the ocean is. Furthermore, many species have synced their biological cycles with the phases of the moon, which include tropical corals, annelid worms, and midges.
With humans, while the effects on a larger scale are ambiguous, in a small study of people with bipolar disorder, their cycles of mania were in sync with the lunar cycle. Also, another study tracking the sleep patterns of an indigenous community in Argentina found they spent less time in REM sleep and slept less in general during the full moon. This, however, was used as evidence for “an innate adaptation” from our ancestors who took any time with light as a time for productivity.
Studies on human birth cycles are also conflicting. A small-scale study in Fukutsu, Japan, found that between January 1996 and March 2007, more babies were born during a full moon and the time approaching a new moon. Despite this, a larger-scale research project over a longer period, and the research of the National Library of Medicine, found no correlation.
Overall, the Forest Preserve District of Will County connects this phenomenon to “illusory correlation,” where the belief causes people to subconsciously act differently. As the mind tends to remember odd occurrences over non-events, if something happens during the full moon, it will remember it more than any regular event happening during the same period. Ashley Lee (11) agrees with this theory as she notes, “During the full moon, I feel very aware of it. I start having a lot of thoughts about it, so I guess my subconscious might be making different choices.” There is a chance the moon used to affect humans before electricity and artificial lighting existed, which is why a reduced version of this effect exists today, but that is simply another theory.
