Verified by Snoozing in the Moonlight
Researchers investigate the connection between the lunar cycle and our sleep cycle.
By Kelsey O'Connell published January 6, 2015 - last reviewed on June 9, 2016
It might be time to give up on counting sheep and start counting the phases of the moon instead. Researchers have found evidence that the lunar cycle can affect the quality of our sleep.
Most recently, a team at Semmelweis University in Hungary reviewed data from overnight studies with 319 people who had been referred to a sleep clinic. During a full moon, the average participant slept worse and spent more of the assigned sleeping time awake. The effects were especially pronounced in women.
“It’s one piece in this big puzzle to understand how nature affects us,” says coauthor Márta Novák. Though the authors say the effect could result from changes in gravitational pull during the full moon, the exact connection between the lunar cycle and our sleep cycle remains unclear.
