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Subconscious mind may be in tune with the lunar cycle, research suggests.
Summary
Research finds little evidence that full moons raise human emergency visits or overall accidents, while some studies report changes in sleep timing and increased vehicle–wildlife collisions around full moons.
Content
Researchers continue to examine how lunar cycles might relate to behavior and biology. Longstanding beliefs that full moons increase human emergencies or aggressive acts have been tested across multiple studies. Some work has found little or no link between lunar phase and hospital admissions or overall accident rates. Other studies report subtler associations, such as shifts in sleep timing and changes in animal activity that can indirectly affect humans.
Key findings:
- A study from the 1980s published in Annals of Emergency Medicine found no significant difference in major trauma emergency admissions on full-moon days versus other days of the lunar cycle.
- A 2014 analysis published in Injury reported similar accident shares during full moons (about 10.1%) and new moons (about 10.2%), which challenges the idea of more accidents at full moon.
- Research in Transportation Research Part D found vehicle–wildlife collisions rose by nearly 46% during full moons, an effect attributed to altered animal activity rather than direct human behavior changes.
- Studies using large datasets from period-tracking apps have shown little to no consistent correlation between menstrual-cycle timing and lunar phases.
- Some field studies report later bedtimes and shorter sleep durations in the three to five nights before a full moon, including in both rural communities without electricity and some urban populations, suggesting a possible light-related or circadian influence.
Summary:
Many widely held claims about full moons and sharp increases in human emergencies are not supported by several studies, while other research documents modest and context-dependent associations such as altered sleep timing and increased wildlife activity near full moons. Undetermined at this time.
