The world feels off-kilter nowadays. Almost as if we live under a permanent full moon. The full moon effect is the concept that there are more crimes, mayhem, and hysteria on the night of a full moon. But is true or just folklore? I had to know the answer so I dove head-first down the lunar rabbit hole.
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Did you know in 18th-century England, people on trial for murder were allowed to campaign for a lighter sentence on grounds of lunacy if the crime happened on the night of a full moon? No, you probably didn’t know that. Unless, of course, you’re weird like me (if so, welcome, friend). Back to the point.
Also, during various periods, psychiatric patients at London’s Bethlehem Hospital were shackled and flogged as a preventive measure during various lunar phases. Pretty disgusting, right?
All of this was done because of the moon. That bold, bright, ball in the sky at night that both frightens and inspires people.
“It is the very error of the moon. She comes more near the earth than she was wont. And makes men mad.”
—William Shakespeare, Othello
If you’re impatient and want the short answer (no judgment here), it’s ‘no’. There is little to no data that verifies the full moon effect. But if you’re a nerd like me, keep reading for cool history, cultural findings, and current developments regarding the moon.
What is a full moon, anyway?
The full moon occurs every 29.5 days. At least 14 nights per year we have one. It’s a phase where, from Earth, the moon appears to be fully illuminated for much of the night. It happens when the side of the moon that’s facing the earth is fully lit up from the sun. Fun fact: there’s no moonlight as such, it’s sunlight reflecting off the moon. The moon borrows its light from the sun.
Yep, you read that right. The light we’re seeing is a reflection of the sun. So the full moon’s illuminated appearance is dependent upon its position as it orbits.
As the positioning changes, the moon appears to have different ‘faces’. Basically, it looks different. And because faces change regularly and predictably, many ancient cultures used the moon as a timepiece of sorts. It was their calendar in the sky, informing them of the cycles and seasons of life.
And here’s where things get woo-woo (or scientific, depending on which label you identify with)….
The moon is the closest natural object to the Earth of its size. Because of its size, it exerts a gravitational force on large bodies of water, affecting the tides. It’s this gravitational force that’s thought to impact behavior patterns.
A little history on the full moon effect from different parts of the globe
The idea of madness and mayhem reigning supreme during a full moon is as old as humankind. Sleepwalking, violence, insomnia, and all manner of strange behavior are attributed to the night of a full moon. If you speak with people working in emergency and police departments, ambulance first responders, and other frontline workers, they often agree on the ‘full moon lunacy’ effect in some form.
In some cultures, warnings passed down for generations about the moon emitting energy that brought natural disasters, wars, outbreaks, and plagues.
The English adjective pertaining to the Moon is “lunar“, derived from the Latin word for the Moon, lūna.
*The Roman goddess Luna bore the name and words like lunatic, looney, and more all refer to states of madness, and all with ‘Luna’ as a prefix.
*Greek philosopher Aristotle and Roman historian Pliny the Elder suggested that the brain was the “moistest” organ in the body and thereby most susceptible to the pernicious influences of the moon, which triggers the tides.
*It’s also called the Transylvania Effect or the Lunar Lunacy Effect.
So, is the full moon effect true or just a myth?
Here’s what I’ve uncovered so far.
Does crime increase?
In 2007 several United Kingdom police departments such as the one in the seaside town of Brighton preemptively added extra officers on full-moon nights to cope with what they presumed would be higher crime rates. Although the police force added additional staff, there were no reports that justified these cautious preparations. Now, you may be thinking, this is just anecdotal. Yes, I had the same thought. And although anecdotes hold value, I wanted to get a bit more granular and look at data.
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- I found a study from Finland that looked specifically at homicides between 1961 and 2014 to test whether homicides varied by moon phases. The conclusion? “Contrary to current scientific opinion, an association exists between moon phases and homicides, and contrary to what has been previously assumed, homicides declined during the full moon, especially in earlier decades. However, the causality of the association remains elusive.” So there were fewer homicides during the full moon phase and there’s no explanation or causation. It’s worth noting, this study focused solely homicides, not crime in general. So, I kept digging.
2. Next, I found a study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) that analyzed crimes reported across three police stations between 1978 and 1982 (a much smaller timeframe window than the aforementioned Finnish study). The conclusion? “The incidence of crimes committed on full moon days was much higher than on all other days, new moon days, and seventh days after the full moon and new moon.”
3. Then I came across a German study attempting to determine a possible relationship between lunar phases and serious crimes of battery in Bavaria between 1999 and 2005. The result? “No significant associations between full, absent, and the moon’s interphases and serious crimes of battery could be detected. Furthermore, a Fourier analysis was conducted that failed to produce an association between violence and the moon’s phases.”
4. In 1985, US psychologists J. Rotton, R. Colver, and I. Kelly conducted a meta-analysis of 37 studies worldwise. The results were not supportive of any full moon effect whatsoever.
5. Alan M. Beck of Purdue University conducted a longitudinal study “to objectively examine the lunar influence on the frequency, duration and intensity of behaviors in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease.” The study concluded that individuals with Alzheimer’s exhibited significantly more behaviors during periods of full moon, and that these behaviors were of a greater duration during the full moon.
6. Another study analyzed data to see if there’s a correlation between the lunar phases and crime over a 15-year period in two US counties (Dade in Florida and Cuyahoga in Ohio). The results were conflicting, with Dade showing a higher incidence but Cuyahoga showing nonsignificant periodicity.
So, what’s the score so far?
The full moon affects crime
2
The full moon doesn’t affect crime (no conclusive data)
4
So, nothing conclusive so far on crime as it relates to the full moon effect. But, I wondered about mental health so back to the rabbit hole, we go!
Is there an effect on mental states?
In a tiny study of just 17 people, researchers found patients rapidly cycled between a state of hyperactive mania and depression during a full moon. But being such a small study, it’s hard to draw any solid conclusions.
I didn’t find anything else conclusive so I rolled on to sleep disturbances and insomnia.
Does the full moon effect cause insomnia?
Let’s look at the results of a small study in 2013 of 33 people who spent the night in a sleep laboratory. Even though they were in a lab and obvsiously couldn’t’ perceive whether the moon was full or not, study participants rated their sleep quality as 15 percent lower when there was a full moon. But, again, it’s unreasonable to come to any solid conclusions with such a small number of study participants.
I found a few other studies with results showing effects on REM and overall quality of sleep. So although the studies were small, sleep seems to be one of the only things conclusively impacted by the full moon.
How about the full moon’s effect on other species?
An observational analysis of data from Bradford Royal Infirmary from 1997-1999 showed an increase of dog, and other animal, bites during the full moon. “The incidence of animal bites rose significantly at the time of a full moon. With the period of the full moon as the reference period, the incidence rate ratio of the bites for all other periods of the lunar cycle was significantly lower (P <0.001).”
But, in contrast to the Bradford data, another observational analysis of data by the Australian Public Hospitals concluded “Dog bites are no more frequent on full moons than at any other time of the month. “
Interestingly, there is strong evidence about the moon and its effect on the rythms and cycles of other organisms in nature. Namely, there’s evidence that the moon affects the physiological life cycles of various specimens: “Starting with the beginning of the last century, a multitude of scientific studies has documented that the lunar cycle times behaviors and physiology in many organisms. It is plausible that even the first life forms adapted to the different rhythms controlled by the moon. ”
So, after digging around on the topic, we’re back to square one. Several conflicting studies, with nothing concrete.
Researchers across the globe have come up empty-handed when attempting to validate the full moon claims of mayhem and madness.
But what about the proclamations by police officers, emergency room staff, and other front-line workers who complain that full moons are busier and ‘wilder’ than other nights? Is it all hogwash? Are they imagining it or making it up?
Is it just a case of confirmation bias, where you’re seeing what you believe? This type of bias would mean if it’s a full moon and you believe in the lunacy effect, you’ll be more apt to notice strange behavior and chalk it up to the moon.
Others believe there’s more light in the sky and so this draws out more people. More people go out, and hang out, and the more people that are out and about, the higher the chance of incidents.
Of course, these are all just people’s theories. I found nothing to back any of that up.
The idea of the full moon mania also begs the question of how. If it were true that the full moon affected behavior, by what mechanism was this happening? Just as the moon affects the tides of water (which is a scientifically proven fact), there’s the idea that it also exerts an influence on the water of our bodies. Meaning our fluid levels are impacted which in turn impacts our thoughts and behaviors. But as you may guess, no evidence of this has been found.
But, wait…
What if there’s no modern data because the effect has lessened over the years?
Did you know that the moon is drifting further away from the Earth? Our moon is drifting further from the Earth by a few centimeters every year.
I am far from any scientist, astronomer. I’m just a moon nerd and love researching stuff. But I am left wondering if the effect the moon has on Earth and its inhabitants is lessening due to the slow drift. I have no idea. Just another of my interesting ponderings. One day, I’ll go down that rabbit hole.
My lunar rabit hole explorations led me in one big inconclusive circle. But still, I can’t deny any person or group’s stories about what they’ve witnessed during a full moon. Although anecdotal, I have no evidence, proof, or justification to contradict what they claim they experienced, especially because those experiences seem to be worldwide and for thousands of years. I also have a deep respect for cultures’ rituals, respects, and beliefs around the full moon and any possible effect it may have on behavior patterns.
For now, I’ll leave you with a lovely poem by Dorianne Laux Facts about the Moon.
Cited:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon
https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/1/e022759
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1444800/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0010440X09000030
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC27561/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC27562/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7322537/