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rynner2 What a Cad!
Great Old One Joined: 13 Dec 2008 Total posts: 20321 Location: Under the moon Gender: Male |
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| ramonmercado Psycho Punk
Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Total posts: 17657 Location: Dublin Gender: Male |
 Posted: 25-11-2012 22:32 Post subject: |
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This report makes me mad.
| Quote: | Myth Debunked: Full Moon Does Not Increase Incidence of Psychological Problems
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/11/121119114255.htm
Full moon. Contrary to popular belief, there is no connection between lunar phases and the incidence of psychological problems. (Credit: © Zacarias da Mata / Fotolia)
ScienceDaily (Nov. 19, 2012) — Contrary to popular belief, there is no connection between lunar phases and the incidence of psychological problems. This is the conclusion reached by a team of researchers directed by Professor Geneviève Belleville of Université Laval's School of Psychology after having examined the relationship between the moon's phases and the number of patients who show up at hospital emergency rooms experiencing psychological problems.
Details on the study can be found on the website of the scientific journal General Hospital Psychiatry.
To determine whether the widespread belief linking the moon to mental health problems was true, researchers evaluated patients who visited emergency rooms at Montreal's Sacré-Coeur Hospital and Hôtel-Dieu de Lévis between March 2005 and April 2008. They focused specifically on 771 individuals who showed up at the emergency room with chest pains for which no medical cause could be determined. Psychological evaluations revealed that a sizeable number of these patients suffered from panic attacks, anxiety and mood disorders, or suicidal thoughts.
Using lunar calendars, the researchers determined the moon phase in which each of these visits occurred. The results of their analyses revealed no link between the incidence of psychological problems and the four lunar phases. There was one exception, however; anxiety disorders were 32% less frequent during the last lunar quarter. "This may be coincidental or due to factors we did not take into account," suggested Geneviève Belleville. "But one thing is certain: we observed no full-moon or new-moon effect on psychological problems."
This study's conclusions run contrary to what many believe, including 80% of nurses and 64% of doctors who are convinced that the lunar cycle affects patients' mental health. "We hope our results will encourage health professionals to put that idea to rest," said Dr. Belleville. "Otherwise, this misperception could, on the one hand, color their judgment during the full moon phase; or, on the other hand, make them less attentive to psychological problems that surface during the remainder of the month."
In addition to Geneviève Belleville, the study was coauthored by Guillaume Foldes-Busque, Mélanie Dixon, Évelyne Marquis-Pelletier, and Sarah Barbeau from Université Laval's School of Psychology; Julien Poitras and Richard Fleet from Université Laval's Faculty of Medicine; Jean-Marc Chauny and Jean Diodati from Université de Montréal; and André Marchand from UQAM.
Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Université Laval.
Journal Reference:
Geneviève Belleville, Guillaume Foldes-Busque, Mélanie Dixon, Évelyne Marquis-Pelletier, Sarah Barbeau, Julien Poitras, Jean-Marc Chauny, Jean G. Diodati, Richard Fleet, André Marchand. Impact of seasonal and lunar cycles on psychological symptoms in the ED: an empirical investigation of widely spread beliefs. General Hospital Psychiatry, 2012; DOI: 10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2012.10.002 |
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| gncxx King-Size Canary
Great Old One Joined: 25 Aug 2001 Total posts: 13303 Location: Eh? Gender: Male |
| Posted: 26-07-2013 18:19 Post subject: |
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On the other hand:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-23405941
| Quote: | A full Moon can disturb a good night's sleep, scientists believe.
Researchers found evidence of a "lunar influence" in a study of 33 volunteers sleeping in tightly controlled laboratory conditions.
When the Moon was round, the volunteers took longer to nod off and had poorer quality sleep, despite being shut in a darkened room, Current Biology reports.
They also had a dip in levels of a hormone called melatonin that is linked to natural-body clock cycles.
When it is dark, the body makes more melatonin. And it produces less when it is light.
Being exposed to bright lights in the evening or too little light during the day can disrupt the body's normal melatonin cycles.
But the work in Current Biology, by Prof Christian Cajochen and colleagues from Basel University in Switzerland, suggests the Moon's effects may be unrelated to its brightness.
Lunar rhythms
The volunteers were unaware of the purpose of the study and could not see the Moon from their beds in the researchers' sleep lab.
They each spent two separate nights at the lab under close observation.
Findings revealed that around the full Moon, brain activity related to deep sleep dropped by nearly a third. Melatonin levels also dipped.
The volunteers also took five minutes longer to fall asleep and slept for 20 minutes less when there was a full Moon.
Prof 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."
Some people may be exquisitely sensitive to the Moon, say the researchers... |
Doesn't sound as if it's a huge influence, mind you. |
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| marionXXX Un-Gnoing Joined: 03 Nov 2001 Total posts: 2895 Location: Keighley, W Yorks Age: 48 Gender: Female |
| Posted: 26-07-2013 21:06 Post subject: |
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| I get terrible insomnia from full moons, earlier this week I had two nights where I didn't sleep til gone 4. I get a strange and terrible pull to go out in the moonlight and run through the fields! As soon as it starts to wane I'm back to normal. |
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| Zilch5 Vogon Poet
Great Old One Joined: 08 Nov 2007 Total posts: 1463 Location: Western Sydney, Australia Gender: Male |
| Posted: 31-07-2013 11:12 Post subject: |
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| marionXXX wrote: | | I get terrible insomnia from full moons, earlier this week I had two nights where I didn't sleep til gone 4. I get a strange and terrible pull to go out in the moonlight and run through the fields! As soon as it starts to wane I'm back to normal. |
I do get insomnia from a full moon too - but I don't run into the fields - there aren't any around where I live. I don't need a scientist to confirm the effect on me - I've known this all my life. |
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| marionXXX Un-Gnoing Joined: 03 Nov 2001 Total posts: 2895 Location: Keighley, W Yorks Age: 48 Gender: Female |
| Posted: 31-07-2013 19:41 Post subject: |
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| I don't actually run through the fields, I just feel like I want to! |
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| Zilch5 Vogon Poet
Great Old One Joined: 08 Nov 2007 Total posts: 1463 Location: Western Sydney, Australia Gender: Male |
| Posted: 01-08-2013 06:11 Post subject: |
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| marionXXX wrote: | | I don't actually run through the fields, I just feel like I want to! |
But it put a nice image into my head!  |
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| Cochise Great Old One Joined: 17 Jun 2011 Total posts: 989 Location: Gwynedd, Wales Age: 57 Gender: Male |
| Posted: 01-08-2013 07:06 Post subject: |
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| I get insomnia. Never thought to look at the state of the moon. But I'm surrounded by fields, so next time I'll take a look out of the window at the moon and all those people running about in the fields... |
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| cherrybomb Skating the thin crust
Great Old One Joined: 26 Aug 2009 Total posts: 942 Location: Sitting on the roof at dusk Gender: Female |
| Posted: 01-08-2013 10:40 Post subject: |
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| As a kid we would go for moon lit walks on full moon nights. It's something my mother still loves to do. It always felt like there were lods of us walking along, rather than the actual 4 or 5 people. To this day she wont have curtains closed in her bedroom so she can see the moon light. |
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| marionXXX Un-Gnoing Joined: 03 Nov 2001 Total posts: 2895 Location: Keighley, W Yorks Age: 48 Gender: Female |
| Posted: 01-08-2013 22:22 Post subject: |
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| The current house we lived in isn't orientated to the moon at all, it is really hard to see it. I used to love going for moonlit walks but wouldn't dare round here, it's too skanky. |
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| rynner2 What a Cad!
Great Old One Joined: 13 Dec 2008 Total posts: 20321 Location: Under the moon Gender: Male |
| Posted: 01-08-2013 22:55 Post subject: |
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| marionXXX wrote: | | The current house we lived in isn't orientated to the moon at all, it is really hard to see it. |
The Moon actually covers a greater amount of sky than the sun. If you can see the sun sometimes, then you should be able to see the moon too. (But usually not at the same time.)
Over a year, the sun moves through a band of the sky 2 x 23.5 degrees wide (north to south). But the band covered by the moon (over a longer period, admittedly) is 2 x 28.5 degrees.
The Full Moon rises opposite the direction of Sunset, +/- up to 5 degrees. |
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