Illustrative Essay

Is the Lunar Effect a Myth? 
The term "lunar effect" (occasionally referred to as the Transylvanian effect) is the belief that there is a connection between stages of the lunar cycle and the behavior of animals, including humans, that cannot simply be explained by the difference in light levels. Examples of the belief have even dated back to ancient Assyrian/Babylonian writing. Many scientists would like to debunk this theory claiming that it’s little more than astrology or myth. Is this phenomenom real? Let’s look at some facts.

Does the full moon drive people crazy? Madmen were once considered to be moonstruck, hence the term "lunatic". The term was derived from the Latin word luna, meaning "moon”. In eighteenth-century England, a murderer could plead 'lunacy' if the crime was committed during the full moon and get a lighter sentence as a result! In one such case, Charles Hyde was actually able to avoid murder charges by claiming that the lunar effect made him go crazy. At the University of Miami, psychologist Arnold Lieber and his colleagues decided to test the theory. The researchers collected data on homicide in Dade County (Miami) over a period of 15 years -- 1,887 murders, to be exact. When they matched the incidence of homicide with the phases of the moon, they found, much to their surprise, that the two rose and fell together regularly for the entire 15 years. As the full moon approached, the murder rate rose sharply; it distinctly declined during the first and last quarters of the moon. To find out whether this was just coincidental, they repeated the experiment using data from Cuyahoga County in Ohio (Cleveland). Again, the statistics showed that more murders did indeed occur at the full and new moons.

Does the moon effect a woman’s menstral cycle? The word "menstruation" is etymologically connected with "moon". The terms "menses" and "menstruation" are derived from the Latin word menses (month), which in order relates to Greek mane (moon) and to the roots of English words month and moon—reflecting the verity that the moon takes near to 28 days to rotate around the Earth. The theory of lunar phase fertility is generally credited to Dr. Eugene Jonas. In the 1950s, Dr. Jonas tried to find an explanation as to why so many women became pregnant while practicing the rhythm method. The fact that these women were becoming pregnant at a time when they weren't supposed to be fertile lead to reason that maybe women had more than one fertile period during a month. Not surprisingly, Dr. Jonas was met with skepticism from scientific world. Since his theory cannot be proven by modern-day scientific reasoning, many choose to dismiss the idea of having two fertile times as nonsense. However, a British study done on lunar phase fertility found that men's sperm counts significantly increased during their lunar fertility period. Another study showed that women who practiced abstinence during both their biological and lunar fertile period were 98% effective in preventing pregnancy. This is a pretty significant increase from the 75% effectiveness rate of being abstinent only during your biological fertility period.

Does the full moon effect sleep patterns? A July 2013 study carried out at the University of Basel in Switzerland suggests a correlation. Professor Cajochen and colleagues presented evidence that a lunar rhythm can control sleep structure in humans. Studying 33 volunteer subjects, the researchers found that subjective and objective measures of sleep varied according to lunar phase and thus may reflect human circalunar rhythmicity. Around full moon it was found that electroencephalogram (EEG) delta activity during NREM sleep, an indicator of deep sleep, decreased by 30%, time to fall asleep increased by five minutes, and EEG-assessed total sleep duration was reduced by 20 minutes. These changes were associated with a decrease in subjective sleep quality and diminished endogenous melatonin levels. Cajochen said: "The lunar cycle seems to influence human sleep, even when one does not 'see' the Moon and is not aware of the actual moon phase.”

So after all of those studies, how can people claim that there is no such thing as a lunar effect? I myself have felt that “ants in the pants” feeling that I couldn’t explain… until I looked up. “Oh it must be a full moon!” is phrase heard around the world. I’ll leave it up to you to decide for yourself. Next time there is a full moon, ask yourself “Do I feel a little crazy?”