The theory that the moon affects the people's mental state as well as female fertility It may be disputed by many, but two new scientific studies that are coming to light reveal that there is some basis for these specific beliefs. One study shows that people they go to bed later and they sleep fewer hours in the days leading up to the full moon, while the second study concluded that the cycles of the menstruation occur sporadically in sync with the lunar cycles.
The first study by scientists from the USA (universities Washington and Yale) and the Argentina (National University Quilmes in Buenos Aires), led by the professor of biology Horacio de la Iglesia A study by the first university, published in the American scientific journal *Science Advances*, found that that sleep cycles appear to change in accordance with the lunar cycle, which lasts approximately 29.5 days. The study involved 562 participants who wore a device on their wrist for two months to monitor their sleep habits.
It was found that during the three to five days before the full moon (but, curiously, not on the day of the full moon itself) the most diverse group of people—ranging from students in a modern metropolis like Seattle to indigenous farmers of the Kom tribe in northern Argentina who don’t even have electricity—tend to go to sleep later and sleep fewer hours. The opposite occurs in the days leading up to the new moon. The phenomenon it is more pronounced in areas where there is no electricity, but it can also be felt in places with electricity.
For most people, the time and duration of sleep vary significantly, by 20 to 90 minutes, depending on the phase of the moon—a finding that surprised the researchers, who had not expected such large fluctuations. Scientists still do not have a clear answer as to what causes this or what biological mechanism is involved. One possibility is that this is an evolutionary adaptation that allowed our ancestors to take advantage of the increased light just before the full moon for various tasks.
What does the moon have to do with a woman's fertility?
The second study by scientists at the Germany, the U.S., and Argentina, led by chronobiologist Dr. Charlotte Helfrich-Forster A study by Julius-Maximilians University of Würzburg, published in the same journal, analyzed period cycles in depth up to 32 years 22 women of various ages, who had kept a record of this, comparing it to the lunar cycle (phases of the moon).
It was found that the women who had a period lasting more than 27 days, They showed occasional synchronization with the lunar cycle. This synchronization was strongest during the long winter nights and when the moon was closest to Earth, but it gradually tended to fade away as women got older, and it was also lower when a woman was exposed to artificial light more frequently.
In women under 35, their periods coincide with the full moon or new moon about one in four times on average, while for women over 35, this happens only once in ten times. Women who belong to the «owl” chronotype (who go to sleep late and wake up later) do not synchronize their menstrual cycles with the moon at all.
