Many associate the full moon with sleep difficulties, and several studies have tried to understand this phenomenon, but most of them have been rejected in the scientific community because of their biased methodology, often based on personal testimonies or a small sample of people.
In a report published by the French newspaper "Lefigaro", the author, Tiffin Hone, quotes sleep doctor Christophe Soro - who has collected the main research on this topic in one thesis - that "these studies have not yet provided conclusive evidence of the moon's effect on sleep." .
A group of American and Argentine studies - whose results were published on January 27 in the journal Science Advances - put forward a new hypothesis that talks about the possibility of "the effect of the brightness of the moon on our biological clock, which regulates our 24-hour cycles."
A new hypothesis talks about the effect of the brightness of the moon on our biological clock (pixels)
exciting results
To reach this conclusion, researchers from Washington and Yale Universities in the United States and the National University of Quilmes, Argentina, using wrist monitors, analyzed the sleep cycles of 562 people, living in the countryside and the city, with or without electricity.
After several weeks, the scientists found that the participants went to bed later and slept an average of 46 to 58 minutes less during the three to five days before a full moon, which means that moonlight can disrupt sleep just like artificial lights.
In this context, expert in chronobiology Claire Lecomte says, "This light passes through the eyes, even if they are closed, and reaches our central biological clock and makes it think we are in broad daylight. This disturbance slows down the production of melatonin (the sleep hormone)," Thus, it delays bedtime.
A new Swedish study, published on September 15 in the journal Science of the Total Environment, supports this hypothesis, noting that sleep disturbances occur during exposure to the moon at the beginning of the night.
Interestingly, among the 852 volunteers included in the study, their ages ranged between 22 and 81 years, the phenomenon affected men more than women.
The neuroscientists - who carried out the study, said in a press release - "We found that men whose sleep was monitored during full moon nights fell asleep less, and stayed awake longer after the onset of sleep compared to men whose sleep was measured in the nights preceding the new moon cycle." .
Scientists concluded that a man's brain is more sensitive to light than a woman's brain.
Moonlight affects people sensitive to noise, smells and light and prone to insomnia (Getty Images)
Hypersensitivity and adaptation
According to Dr. Soro, the new study - despite its importance - does not conclusively prove the effect of moonlight on humans during sleep, and he says in this context that "the light of the full moon is like lighting a candle 10 meters away, which means that it is very dim light."
Soro believes that moonlight mainly affects people who are sensitive to noise, smells and light, and who are prone to insomnia, and confirms that "no study has so far examined the effect of the moon on a sample of people who already have difficulties sleeping."
And the other question that the study touched on: How can we explain sleep disturbances in large cities when we sleep in rooms with dark curtains blocking all the lights?
"The most likely hypothesis put forward by the team of scientists is that humans adapted. At a time when there was no electricity, humans used the brightness of the moon in the days before its fullness to enjoy its light at night," Soro says.