Do You Know Full Moon Can Affect Sleep?

A new study was released suggesting that a full moon can affect human sleep cycles. Researchers confirmed that the nights leading up to a full moon have more natural light available after the sun goes down.

The new research found that in the days before a full moon, people go to sleep later in the evening and sleep for shorter periods of time. The results were reported in a study appearing in the publication Science Advances. The research was led by biology professor Horacio de la Iglesia of the University of Washington.

The moon takes 27.3 days to orbit Earth, but it takes 29.5 days to complete a full cycle from New Moon to New Moon. The new study measured the sleep patterns of test subjects as the moon progressed through at least one whole 29.5-day cycle. Some subjects were tested through two moon cycles.

On average, people involved in the study slept about 52 minutes less on nights before a full moon. They also went to bed about 30 minutes later. The research showed that people had the latest bedtimes and the shortest amount of sleep during the nights that were three to five days before a full moon.