Can mood swings be connected to the moon phases?

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Moon Phases and People

For the people who are talking about there being a lack of scientific studies, I'd like to ask, has there ever been a study that looks at people who have SAD (seasonal affective disorder) as a separate group from people who are not affected by it? I was never diagnosed with SAD but I definitely have it. I can't work in a place that has no windows and I am impacted greatly by the amount of sun I am exposed to. In the summer months where there is beating sun day after day I begin to feel nervous and jittery, that negative energy instead of a positive, relaxed energy. And in the winter when it is very cloudy I feel relaxed and when there are too many days of clouds and not enough sun I sink into depression. Interestingly, the way I feel around the full moon very closely mirrors how I feel in the summer after a string of very sunny days. I can't sleep, I feel anxious and nervous, and I can't relax. I have no doubt that the extra light/energy reflected onto the earth by the moon during the 6-7 days surrounding the full moon affects me just like the presence or lack of sunlight during the day. And for me personally, I almost always notice the inability to sleep, the anxiety and restlessness, and other symptoms before I even notice the moon is full.

What scientific studies have there been, and have they ever focused on people who have SAD? AFAIK, there haven't been a lot of studies on this, and I haven't ever heard of one that looks at people who have SAD and how they are affected by the moon phases. Maybe "everyone else" isn't affected by the full moon, but that doesn't make the experience of those of us who are invalid. It doesn't have to be true for everyone to be true, period.

• i'm not so sure about males, but women who are "in tune" with the moon often have their periods on full moons, and ovulate during a new moon. this information has actually been used as a method of birth control called "lunaception". obviously this has a lot to do with womens moods, but i dont know about men, i've been wondering myself. ---- I BELIEVE THAT THEY DO . MY SISTER IS A PSHYCHIATRIC NURSE AND SHE SWEARS ITS REALLY CRAZY AT HER HOSPITAL WHEN ITS A FULL MOON!

• Yes. The full moon has everything to do with all of us.

Began to study metaphysis. Be open in mind. You will find your answer and much more.

All that God made is good. Including the full moon.

• In a word, Yes! I am diagnosed with depression, and am a lot better 20 months on from my initial 'flip' but still struggle with moodswings, both high and low, beyond my control. About 12 months ago i read about the full moon's possible effect on mood and looked a little deeper. Looking at diary entries, i dicovered that all my biggest changes in mood were at the time of a full moon, including admission to psychiatric hospital, bar one occasion. Now i just accept it as part of life, but don't live my life by the calendar or anything. Quite often i'll realise or be told that it is a full moon when i'm a couple of days into a wierd headspace, and then it kind of makes sense. At least you know you'll come out of it in a few days, which is very reassuring. A lot of scientists reckon it's bulls**t, but what do they know? They still have no cures for mental health problems, and psychologists are way behind - they should try listening and taking note of people's 'experiences' rather than what's printed in a textbook! Waffle waffle, should stop now....!

• I truly believe that the answer is YES, mood swings can be connected to the moon phases. Factors include the person himself, the moon phase, and the emotional state of the person at the time of the moon phase. I particularly think that the FULL MOON is the moon phase that has an effect on certain people's moods. For instance, I will feel a little gloomy on a full moon, sometimes a little promiscuous, even if I don't know that it's a full moon. When I get a surge of energy and a change in my mood state, I sometimes will take out the calender and it would just so happen to be that it is around a full moon or on a full moon day. Usually on a full moon, I am a little depressed or just the opposite, almost as if the moon has some sort of a pull on my emotional state.

• No, there is absolutely no sensible theoretical reason why this would be so, and no empirical evidence to suggest that it is the case. No known mechanism of action exists that makes the idea worth contemplating. It is, as is often the case, a product of the brain's unique ability to find patterns where they don't exist.

It is true that the the term "lunatic" comes from "lunar", and refers to a supposed correlation between the full moon and insanity, but that idea was disproved hundreds of years ago.

• The posters are right and yes, the moon does effect moods in many people. The moon effects the tides, so why not us?

Remember the movies of the Werewolf? Well, someone decided that they could make a good movie out of a full moon turning a man into a werewolf. Thank heavens we don't turn into hairy creatures when the moon in full.

Some religions and cults are based on the moon as well. Even though man has walked on the moon there are many mysteries to behold and I doubt man will ever tap into most of them.

Don't forget that romance is also based around a full moon and many songs have been sung about it. It's not all bad.

Is it possible you could suffer from "light deprivation?" People that live in places such as British Columbia, or very rainy and dark countries (for part of the year) suffer depression or do not feel well. Keep a log on yourself as to when you don't feel well and when you do and you will find a pattern. Be sure to put rainy, dark days down and full moons.

Hope you are feeling better soon.

Marcy

• I am absolutely convinced that mood is relational to the phases of the moon. I myself begin to have odd sleeping patterns when the moon is full and for a few days following. not to mention the crazy dreams that continually wake me up throughout those evenings.

• The Full Moon does affect the mind, why is still debated. For me even when not having an episode, the Full Moon will still nearly always cause me Insomnia at the least or even short term hypomania.

Some reasons it could affect people are:

Light. Studies into using light or actually the removal of all light during a 10-14 hour period normally spanning night, to reset/bring back to normal brain function. A full moon provides alot of extra light which could be interfering with sensitive people and their body clocks.

• Evolution. Primitive brain functions still active but today's society has no place for them. The time of the full moon represents a good time for even daytime animals to hunt. So perhaps on a full moon brains remain switched on to either hunt or avoid being hunted. Of course in humans today the use of this function is of no use and often can cause mixed responses in people.

• Lunatic was after all used to describe craziness caused by or increased by the Moon. Luna = Moon.

• It has never occured to me before to step outside and look at the moon during a spell in which I am extremely bad tempered and tearful. However for the past couple of days I have been like a woman possesed. I have worn my nails to the bone in a frantic housework spree, have been very short tempered and tearful. I also happened to notice that indeed, there was a full moon outside. I have never been one to believe in the stars and the moon but I am now utterly convinced that there is a connection between the two.

• I am an Afro American male. I have been diagnosed with adult ADD, depression and high blood pressure. I have long believed that the moon has significant affect upon upon on the retention of water in my body. I take a diuretic to remove excess salt from my system. During periods of the full moon, my pills don't work as well. It starts with the first indication of the moon waxing. There is usually a purging of water when the moon starts to wane. With the retention of water I recognize a general sensitivity to all sensations, an increased libido, an lessening of frontal cortex executive functioning (short term memory) an rise in blood pressure and increased depression. These in me are the side affects of high blood pressure. I'm not sure if the moon has direct affect upon brain wave or states of lower or higher conciousness but I do attest personally to a biological effect upon my body. Since nature does have a effect on all living things, tides, seasons, barometer, etc, I don't think it is far fetched to think that, if the phases of the moon have affect upon the tides, it could have affect upon us systemically. I also have a grandchild who is Bi-polar. Her worse days are the moon waxings. This is my first search for proof of a theory that I've long suspected has some validity. I'm afraid that conversation in more scientific forums would label me a lunatic.

• Hi My Name is Lilly, I am 30 yrs old and have paid more attention to the moon changes as i grow older. I have noticed that on full moon i am hyper and can't sleep. i am full of positive energy unlike when the first quarter, half, and new moon. the moon affects other things created by god why wouldn't it affect us? Thank you, Lilly R.

• Ask any teacher about the affect of the full moon on children's behavior and you'll get interesting answers. My elementary school students get agitated. We experience more behavorial problems in the classroom. I've noticed that I have more vivid dreams. Could it be that the light of the full moon keeps us in a less deep sleep and that that lack of restful sleep affects us during the day? Just because science hasn't been able to give us a rational reason for the connection doesn't mean one doesn't exist. Police have more activity during the full moon. Hospitals know that more people are born and expire around the time of the full moon. Interesting!

• To date, there is no repeatable, verifiable scientific evidence that the moon affects our behavior in any way. Having said that, the anecdotal evidence of cops and ER nurses and psychiatrists seems to contradict that. It's an old idea that won't die, yet nobody has ever been able to use a controlled experiment, using scientific method, that proves that it is true. So, scientifically speaking, the answer is a resounding no. And then, there are all the rest of us who insist that the moon does affect people. Flip a coin and pick a side. So far, nobody has been able to put a definitive end to this debate.

• For those of you who say "No", there is no scientific evidence that the moon affects the brain or behavior patters, you are obviously eating only what you are fed from your discovery channel, and have yet to think outside of that box (now with Hi-Def!). The moon will "scientifically" have no option other than to affect the chemical make-up of our minds. Fact: The cycle of the moon controls aspects of both bodies of water, and also marine life (oh, and human life). Reference: http://www.iit.edu/~johnsonp/smart00/lesson4.htm Fact: The human brain is composed of 70% (with estimates of actually 90% water.) Reference: http://esl.about.com/library/lessons/blbraingym.htm - bullet "Drink Water", line 1&2. Fact:The typical Typical number of sodium pumps = The Brain's neurons provide 1000 pumps/micron2 of sodium to the membrane surface. Reference: Willis and Grossman, Medical Neurobiology, Mosby, St. Louis, 1981, p. 36. Conclusion - If you do not think that there is ANY similarity between saltwater & the combination of the 70-90% of water and the sodium that is pumped to the membrane surface of the brain, then perhaps you need to watch more tv?

• No it can not.

• No. Plain and simple. No.

• Medical statistics shows that human suicide rates consistently higher on the full phase of the moon.

• For the people who answer no. Can they explain why my husband gets into an unprovoked bad mood, sometimes bordering on violent emotionally bad tempered always at the time of a full moon? When he goes into a depression or rage I now make a point of looking in the sky and what do you know - a full moon is usually present or a day or 2 either side. At least it is easier on me now as I know that in a day or so it will pass and he will be back to normal.

• YES.

Most nights i need at least 9 hours sleep, and that sleep is a very deep sleep, if i do not get this amount of sleep then i feel exausted the next day, and am also very grumpy. however during the full moon i can go quite happily without any sleep, and most times find it very difficult to get get to sleep, if i do suceed to sleep however it is a very light sleep. i am also far more hyperactive, than i would usually be and even with the severe lack of sleep which would usually leave me lathargic, i am full of energy the next day. the idea that it has something to do with the light doesnt really work for me as i work evenings in a bar where the lighting is pretty consistant due to it being artificial, and i will often start work before the sn has even set, but will be far more active to about the same effect as taking caffeine tablets, and only later find out that oh look its a full moon again, and when i get home to bed my curtains cut out all outside light and yet still i will find sleeping very difficult. i would really love to find out why this is. another effect is that my diet will dramatically change- either i will want to eat everything or i seem to fast for abotu 4 days either side of the full moon as i simply do not feel hungry.

• Yes. In desperation I found this site. Today is the first time I have researched this subject. The full moon was Saturday. Today is Monday and this is the first time in three days I have felt normal. I feel like a person posessed during a full moon and have only realised this fact at the age of 49. My mother always used to warn me about the full moon affecting my father. My behaviour becomes totally irrational. I am very irritable, bad tempered and unreasonable. It has caused problems with my relationships because I am like a crazy woman who rants and raves and wont listen to reason. I know in my head it is riduculous behaviour..... but I feel like someone else is behind the wheel so to speak!

It is at the point now where I am backing out of a relationship with a wonderful man because I don't want to make his life hell.

I feel like this at least twice a month so I am going to start watching the phases of the moon and charting the bad days to see if there is a connection.

• Yes I have noticed a restless feeling before full moon and relaxation after full moon. Sex drive increases and the amount of sleep I need decreases.

I have also observed more tension in the work place preceding full moon.

I also feel new moon has a less dramatic but noticeable affect.

• I would like to respond to the "The moon affects the tides, so why not people?" arguments. (I guess this doesn't follow the "single neutral answer" ideal, but there are already multiple conflicting answers and to combine them I'd have to create yet another Internet forum account.)

Anyway, the above is a logical fallacy. To determine whether the moon can affect people in the same way that the tides do, you have to examine why the moon produces tides. (And further, if the moon can affect people as it does the tides, you then have to examine whether the way in which it affects people has anything to do with their moods.)

The moon produces tides because of its gravity: its gravitational pull weakens with distance, so it pulls less hard on water on the far side of the Earth (relative to the Moon) than it does on water near the Earth. This produces a "tidal force" which stretches the water on either side of the Earth. It has nothing to do with saltwater or even water, per se (it affects all physical bodies, and in particular produces stresses in the Earth's crust, although they effect is less noticeable because the solid crust does not deform as readily as a liquid does). It also has no chemical effect.

However, since the tidal force is due to a weakening of the Moon's gravity over distance, its effect on a human being, who is over 5 million times smaller than the Earth, is correspondingly over 5 million times weaker than the force that produces the tides. This is too weak to have any significant effect on the human body (and the only effect it would have anyway would be to stretch your body very very slightly).

Furthermore, the tidal force depends only on the distance between the Earth and the Moon, which is approximately constant, so the gravitational effect of the Moon should not vary appreciably over the course of a lunar month. (The distance varies by only about 5% during the Moon's orbit, and the tidal force varies in strength by no more than 15%. A 15% fluctuation in a force that is already ridiculously small is even less likely to have any kind of effect on the body.) But even if we, for the sake of argument, assume that these fluctuations in tidal force could produce an effect on the body, those fluctuations have nothing to do with the lunar phase: as I said, the tidal force depends only variations in the Earth-Moon distance, which are not synchronized with the lunar phases.

In summary, it is not scientifically credible that the Moon's gravitational influence on the tides can be related in any way to an analogous gravitational influence of lunar phases on human moods. If we were marine animals then perhaps there could be an effect on us from the motions of the tides themselves (not due to the influence of the Moon on us directly), but we are not, and there is no physical mechanism by which the level of the tides can remotely influence the physical behavior of a body far from water.

The only other way the Moon can influence us physically is through its light, in which case we would expect to see no effect on people who spend evenings indoors, and it would be possible to reproduce the effect by varying indoor lighting. I am aware of no studies that show such a correlation. For that matter, I'm not aware of studies that show any kind of mood effect correlated with lunar phases. (And if there were such a correlation, that still doesn't prove causation; you'd have to do an experiment instead of an observation, possibly using artificial lighting as I mentioned, to demonstrate a direct causal influence of light levels on human moods. And even if there is such an effect, it doesn't necessarily correspond to the same kind of claimed effect of lunar phases.) In short, vague handwaving and anecdotal evidence is not sufficient to determine whether lunar phases really do affect humans. You certainly cannot conclude it with "utter conviction", as another contributor did, on the basis of happening to notice a single instance of anomalous behavior during a full Moon.

• yes!

• It's 3.00 a.m. and I am on the Internet so something is not right! All my life I have been lucky enough to sleep very well and go to sleep within minutes. However, I have the occasional one night, or, more often, two consecutive nights when I can't get to sleep at all and, after an hour or so in bed, I give up and move downstairs to another room to read or surf the Net. So as not to disturb my partner, I don't put any lights on until I reach the other room and close the door. It has finally dawned on me that I can move around the house with no problems .......... because the front-door glass is letting in a bright light! (the bedroom curtains have no-gap blackout lining). And finally, after years I have made the connection - my rare insomnia nights always coincide with the full moon. I'm a highly qualified and 'scientific' internal physician so stereotypically I should not believe in the power of the moon's phases to affect sleep. But I'm now convinced

• It must be that the moon influences body fluids, I am 7 months pregnant and find myself absolutely unable to sleep at night. My mind can't settle down I feel restless. I never had this problem before, but with the increase of water in my body I am affected by the power of full moon. A friend of mine described exactly the same thing happen to her in her pregnancy.

• Okay - there was a VERY lengthy discussion about how the gravitational pull on a body is so minor that it could not possibly affect moods. In addition, they provided incorrect information stating that "High tides do not correspond with Lunas cycles".

In fact, the Highest tides DO coincide with Full moons and new moons. During these two moon phases, the Earth, Moon, AND Sun are in alignment, thus the sun is contributing to the pull on the earth, creating SPRING TIDES.

When the moon is only a quarter moon (waxing or waning) the moon is at right-angles to the sun and thus should have the least affect on tides (and us).

You can read more details here. http://home.hiwaay.net/~krcool/Astro/moon/moontides/

As for my personal $0.02 I feel that our neuro-physiology is so sensitive that it could certainly be affected by lunar cycles. We must remember that we are a part of this earth, and even if the affect isn't directly from the moon, it could be from increased positive ions in the air (a side-affect of high-tide), increased humidity, air pressure, whatever it may be - the combined affect can affect SOME people SOMETIMES.

It's not easy to say an absolute either way - extremes are often not correct. The truth usually lies somewhere in the middle.

What you need to be careful about is not creating a self-fullfilling prophecy. If you think you're going to get grumpy and turn into an emotional werewwolf with the lunar cycles, then you probably will. What's interesting is the amount of anectdotal evidence where people looked back and, in retrospect, saw an alignment between mood and lunar cycles.

• All my life I have noticed patterns like this. I'll feel great, on top of the world, in fact, for a few weeks per month, then, almost instantly, and for no apparent reason, find myself plummeted into a deep depression. I'll feel like my body is made of lead, and that I get irritable very easily, will have a darker general outlook on life, and will find myself thinking rather negatively about everything. I have kept a journal as long as I can remember, as an attempt to chronicle these patterns and maybe find a reason for them. Today I happened to look at a lunar calendar for this month. I also took out my journal. I noticed how the days where I felt rather crummy (and on those days I'll feel lethargic and sluggish, and will also feel like eating everything not nailed down) the full moon had just passed. I also noticed that the worst day, the one where I felt especially hungry and tired, is where the moon was not visible at all (the space was entirely black). Which corresponded exactly to my feeling of being "empty" -- both insatiably hungry and devoid of energy. The next day, as if by magic, I started to feel better, had more natural energy, and experienced a sharp decrease in appetite, and I noticed that on that day a tiny slice of a moon had started to peek out. The hair on my neck actually stood straight up. It's as if I've finally received an answer. I read the other postings on this page, from those who agree with this theory, as well as those who think it's hogwash, but for me, it doesn't matter. I know, for myself, that it's true. I saw the answer in black and white. If you keep a journal, and notice that your moods follow certain predictable patterns during the course of a month, try looking at a lunar calendar and see if it matches the changes in your moods and / or energy level. It might just surprise you.

Now, armed with this knowledge, all I have to do is figure out how to regulate my moods ... any suggestions ?

*It would have been nice, if each of the above respondants would have identified there genetic sex as determined by their genitalia left behind after any decision was made by the attending physician at their birth.

That said, I am a male, with no intervening decision having been deemed necessary by any human.

I do not feel any differently during any moon phase.

As was stated by a female above, I do feel that females do feel and therefore also act/behave quite differently.

My wife has suddenly gotten on this kick of accusing me of irrational behavior during the full moon...and I have refrained from mentioning that such a perspective is nullified by the lack of effect on the new moon (I am not sure she even knows what that means).

She, on the other hand has become [in general], has become irrational in general due to other influences...which are exacerbated by the lunar influence.

So, in summary, my input must be...

Yes, for females, no for males?

Sadly, my search must go on for some other cause because of the flaw I perceive in such an answer.

* Male late-30s writes,
Hello, great to have found a forum for this kind of thing. I am being (succesfully?) treated for bi-polar disorder, having first been diagnosed with mental health issues at age 19. Like many above I have noticed "highs" around a full moon (i.e. tonight, 3:52am now!) but not been aware of exact lunar activity before popping outside to look at the sky
and noticing a big beaming white disc shining down on me. Don't know if the reverse is true for those "lows" though... Stay positive, G'night.

I'm a 40 year old male

Feeling low with a flu bug just before Christmas, I looked back through my diary at other times I've been ill. Every month or two for a few years now I seem to have had a few days of feeling incredibly low and finding myself more susceptible to illness. I was trying to see if I'd done anything just before each illness or if there was some common denominator. I don't know much at all about phases of the moon but due to a full moon symbol being listed in my diary I discovered that each time I had felt low or ill it was in the few days around a full moon. Not every single time, but nine out of the last thirteen full moons I'd felt that way, which seems quite a lot. I don't know if this is anything to do with the full moon or if it is because of something else that coincides with a full moon, but something at that time does seem to affect my health. My wife has her period just before the full moon. Maybe her feeling of being drained at this time is catching!

>>>>Hello I am biomedical scientist, and find ths topic very interesting (as do many either hard-working scientists -- so please don't feel as if we have turned our noses up against the idea of the lunar/light effect). You may be comforted to know that there is now emerging scientific evidence linking circadian rhythms (which are regulated by light exposure) to mood disorders (including SAD and Bipolar Disorder). In fact, much research has been aimed at understanding the importance of the CLOCK gene (a gene w/ a central role in circadian rhythms).
Conditions in the realm of SAD and BPD are very difficult to research b/c of our lack of a true animal model. Interestingly, a paper was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) by Roybal et al. this past April (2007 Apr 10;104(15):6406-11.) in which mice were genetically engineered to have a mutation in the Clock gene. Astoundingly, these mice displayed manic-like behaviors:

"...hyperactivity, decreased sleep, lowered depression-like behavior, lower anxiety, and an increase in the reward value for cocaine, sucrose, and medial forebrain bundle stimulation. Chronic administration of the mood stabilizer lithium returns many of these behavioral responses to wild-type levels."

This is very promising work connecting circadian signaling to mood, and I know that over time it will yield a much better understanding the impact of our environment on mood and ultimately flawless therapies for conditions like SAD and BPD. If you are interested in the subject read perhaps you should read about: melatonin, cortisol, circadian rhythms, and CLOCK. <<<<

-----

I'm a 35-year-old male, I've recently been diagnosed with cyclothymia, a mild form of bipolar disorder. For a few months I've been keeping a mood diary and graph. I couldn't help noticing that during the fourth week of every month my mood slumped and I fell into strong depression, which lasted only a few days, then disappeared as if by magic.

I checked a calendar to see if there was any possible correlation with moon phases and found that my crises had taken place 3 to 6 days after the first night of full moon. I am now quite convinced there must be some link. My sister's gynaecologist says that when the full moon appears he sleeps at the hospital, because women give birth. I don't think that's simply superstition. I was born immediately after full moon and so was, for example, my 6-month-old nephew.

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