Like werewolves, some people don’t sleep well during a full moon. For years, the effect the moon has on sleep has been a subject of debate among scientists. Now a study in Germany has finally put the matter to bed by revealing who is most at risk to lose sleep during a full moon — and why.
The research shows that a full moon creates increased activity in the brain’s cortex (the outer layer of the brain linked to action and thought) but that the moon’s effects seem to mainly disturb the sleep of men.
“Subjects (in our study) slept an average of 20 minutes less and had more trouble falling asleep during the full moon phase,” says researcher Michael Smith. “However, the greatest impact on REM sleep appeared to be during the new moon.”
REM – rapid eye movement – occurs when you are having vivid dreams. Each night we spend about 20 percent of the night in REM sleep. REM sleep first takes place about 90 minutes after we go to bed and then reoccurs periodically during the night.
“The rooms in our sleep laboratories (where we did this research) do not have any windows,” Smith says. “So the effect we found cannot be attributable to increased nocturnal light during full moon. Thus, there may be a built-in biological clock that is affected by the moon, similar to the one that regulates the circadian rhythm.”
Smith adds that the results of the study are not definitive and there’s a lot more to learn about how the moon influences sleep. But his analysis shows that during a full moon, noise is more likely to wake you up than when the moon is in a different phase.
If you have trouble falling asleep, you can try my sure-fire cure for wakefulness: Exercise so much (but not too close to bedtime) that by the time you go to bed, you’re too exhausted to stay awake, full moon or not.
But I’ve been lucky. I’ve never had much trouble falling asleep. But when I rarely do, I only consider sleep-promoting foods and natural sleep aids. Melatonin supplements (melatonin is an antioxidant that the body makes naturally) can help bring on sleep. A great way to get it from a food source is to enjoy a glass of tart cherry juice about an hour before bedtime.
