For the last few days, I’ve felt off. Writing had been difficult. Words refused to flow. Pumping out a decent chapter likened to delivering a 10 lb. baby with wide shoulders and oversized head. Even my playlists didn’t match my mood.
And sure, moments of melancholy go hand-in-hand with the holidays, but that wasn’t it. So, like I often do, I turned to nature for the answer. Specifically, the ebb and flow of the Moon.
When the lunar calendar showed the waning crescent phase, I’d found my answer. We’ve done battle before, her and I.
The waning crescent means one thing: early nights. With the final stretch of this lunar cycle, it’s normal to feel exhausted by the past month and want to unwind as the New Moon approaches. It’s also a time of reflection. Perfect time for journaling and self-care.
I’ve long known how the Moon affects me. It’s undeniable. I also know my views may conflict with yours, and that’s okay. We’re writers, after all. It’s our job and passion to question the mysteries of life.
Why would I believe the Moon is responsible for my lackadaisical mood?
I’m glad you asked. 😉
Let’s first look at the composition of the human body.
According to the Journal of Biological Chemistry 158:
- An adult human body is made up of about 60% water.
- The brain and heart consist of 73% water.
- Lungs are about 83% water.
- Skin has 64% water.
- Muscles and kidneys are 79% water.
- Even bones are 31% water.
The above percentages vary by age, gender, and where people reside. An adult male, for example, needs about 3 liters per day of water while an adult female only needs 2.2 liters. Some of which we derive from food. Keep in mind, fat tissue doesn’t have as much water as lean tissue.
Infants are born with the most water — about 78% of their body. By their first birthday, that number decreases to about 65%.
Water serves several essential functions:
- first acts as a building material, then provides nutrients to every cell in the body
- regulates internal body temperature through sweating and respiration
- metabolizes and transports carbohydrates and proteins in food to the bloodstream
- assists in flushing waste through urination
- acts as a shock absorber for brain, spinal cord, and fetus
- creates saliva
- lubricates joints
With all the water in our bodies, how could the Moon not affect us?
If you’re still not convinced, perhaps it’ll help to understand how and why the Moon wields great power.
Tides
The Moon’s gravitational pull generates something called “the tidal force.” The tidal force causes Mother Earth — and its water — to swell on the sides closest and farthest from the Moon. These bulges of water are high tides. As the Earth rotates, our regions pass through both stages every day. If we’re in one of the bulges, we receive a high tide. If we’re not, it results in a low tide. This cycle of two high tides and two low tides occurs on almost all of the world’s coastlines. The rare exception is when the tide circles around an island, like in New Zealand.
In addition to the tides, the Moon controls time, light, and stable seasons.
For many animals, particularly birds, the Moon is essential to migration and navigation. Others will time their reproduction to coincide with the specific phases of the lunar cycle. There’s also a whole world of fascinating adaptations relating to tides and the unique properties of moonlight.
Power of Lunar Cycle
The lunar cycle changes circadian rhythms — day/night cycles driven by Earth orbiting the Sun. Human circadian rhythms are easily thrown off by jet lag or when we change the clocks. But circalunar rhythms, which are tied to lunar cycles, can also impact us.
Circalunar rhythms are difficult to discern, but they effect different types of organisms. Some animals respond to both a circadian rhythm and a lunar clock. I recently wrote an in-depth article about why animals don’t get lost that may interest you.
“The Moon has been up there as long as evolution has been taking place, and lunar rhythms are embedded in the life cycles of many organisms. The challenge is working out when the Moon truly is a factor and what is merely myth and legend.”
— Dr. Tom White, Senior Curator of Natural History Museum
Day Length
The gravitational pull of the Moon is slowing Earth’s rotation, an effect known as “tidal braking,” which increases the length of our day by 2.3 milliseconds per century. Early Earth was spinning at a much faster rate. According to computer models, we had a six-hour day 4.5 billion years ago. Since then, with the help of our Moon, the Earth’s rotation has been slowing. The result is longer days.
Seasons
The giant impact that formed the Moon may have tipped the Earth and contributed to the 23.5° tilt of our North Pole. This tilt gives us our seasons.
The Moon’s gravitational pull acts like training wheels for Earth on its journey around the Sun, and keeps the axis pointed at a consistent angle. Without the Moon, the Earth’s stately progression through spring, summer, fall, and winter would have massive fluctuations.
If the Moon controls tides (with help from our Sun), time, light, and seasons, it’s naïve to think it can’t impact human life. Or maybe, you’ve never given it much thought.
Fair enough. We do live busy lives and have different interests.
A few fun facts:
- Behaviors of several species have been linked to lunar periodicity.
- The word “lunacy” stems from the Latin word “lunar,” which means “Moon.”
Ask your local police if crime rises during a full Moon. Many will say yes. A registered nurse friend of mine swears the nursing home goes berserk during a full Moon. Yet, neither have been scientifically proven as cold, hard facts. Doesn’t mean they aren’t true, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention it.
- Some philosophers say the Moon affects human behavior and health by its gravitational pull on body fluids.
The gravitational pull is so strong, our planet’s crust is stretched by these same tidal effects on a daily basis.
Can the Moon Disrupt Sleep?
A 2021 study found that people fell asleep later and slept less overall on the nights before the full moon — called Moonstruck sleep. Other research suggests the full Moon may be associated with less deep sleep and increased REM (rapid eye movement) latency.
Sleep latency is the period between when you first fall asleep and when you enter the first stage of REM sleep. So, increased latency means it takes longer to reach REM sleep.
As restrictions in sleep duration have been shown to adversely affect glucose regulation and physical activity to improve glucose regulation, one could argue cardiometabolic risk factors might also be affected by the lunar phase.
Despite dismissal by many non-holistic practitioners, scientific studies show we sleep less during certain Moon cycles.
“While the sun is the most important source of light and synchronizer of circadian rhythms for almost all species, moonlight also modulates nocturnal activity in organisms ranging from invertebrate larvae to primates. Moonlight is so bright to the human eye that it is entirely reasonable to imagine that, in the absence of other sources of light, this source of nocturnal light could have had a role in modulating human nocturnal activity and sleep.
However, whether the moon cycle can modulate human nocturnal activity and sleep remains a matter of controversy. Some authors have argued against strong effects of moon phase on human behavior and biological rhythms, but recent studies have reported that human sleep and cortical activity under strictly controlled laboratory conditions are synchronized with lunar phases.”
Some people are biologically more sensitive to the lunar clock than others, along with the Moon’s alignment with astrological signs.
So, TKZers, if you’d rather snuggle up with a good book or watch a sappy Christmas movie, I grant you whatever permission you may need to go for it. When the New Moon arrives on the 13th, light up the keyboard!
I have only one question for you today. How are you, friend?
This is my last post before our holiday break. Wishing you and yours a joyous season!
I’m not moonstruck, at least not as far as I’m aware, but I AM in the winter doldrums, have set up my Daylight light therapy box on my desk – and hadn’t been remembering to turn it on!
Because we’ve been getting to bed way too late, and getting up mid-morning, so it seemed silly to put the light on in full daylight.
Well, it isn’t silly, and I’m promising myself to turn it on, first thing, when I sit down at the computer whatever time that is, and to try to regularize the hours for maximum daylight – to get back to my winter best instead of this sludge. For me, the light box works. I just need to turn it on.
I’ve heard about the light box and the benefits of using one, Alicia. Alaskans swear by them.
Sue;
Your comment re: asking the local LEO about crime increases during the full moon reminds me of discussions I’ve had with the EMT’s and folks in the ER at the day job.
As you said, there’s no real “clinical data” to support them, but they all say accidents and general “lunacy” bring a “high tide” of calls and trips to the ER, and the behavioral health unit has to put up the “no vacancy” sign (called “going on diversion” in the biz…).
In fact, they say the busiest times are full moon weekends with a payday on Friday… (a country song if I’ve ever heard one… 😋)
So true, George. I’ve never had a cop friend say otherwise. 😀
Fascinating, Sue! So was your article on why animals don’t get lost.
When planting seeds, farmers and gardeners have long paid attention to the moon. Here’s an article: https://salisburygreenhouse.com/the-best-planting-days/
More anecdotal experience: when I worked in retail and saw hundreds of people per day, there was a definite difference in customers during the full moon, almost as if a different shift of humans came out of hiding whom we didn’t normally see.
Hmmm, better check the lunar cycle before characters murder someone.
Wishing you and your family happy holidays. Thank you for the amazing research you share with us at TKZ! You’re a treasure!
Aww, thank you, Debbie!
Agree about dealing with strange people during the full Moon. When I had my hair salon, the change in clientele was markedly noticeable, like the whole world had gone crazy.
Haha! I had the same thought!
Wishing you and yours a relaxing and fun holiday, my friend. xo
Fascinating article! Thanks for the link.
Wonderful post, Sue!
Debbie beat me to mention of planting by the moon. Several generations of farmers on my husband’s side of the family swear by planting potatoes during a full moon. (That’s chilly work, considering the time of year we plant potatoes in N Texas, but I’ve had excellent results, so I can’t complain too much!)
I have also long heard from ER & first responders (as well as teachers!) that the full moon means lunacy in the population. I definitely pay attention to it for to my own social or travel plans. The Metroplex is bad enough on a “normal” day!
But that part about “tidal braking” is fascinating!! Six hour days! I get exhausted just considering it.
I did notice a difference in sleep and mood while rough camping in Montana one summer. It wasn’t just the local chipmunks skittering across our bedrolls that kept us awake. The moon was very full and extraordinarily bright. It didn’t just feel closer at our elevation, it felt intrusive! We all joked that we needed some sort of cream to prevent “moonburn.”
Thank you for the educational and entertaining post. A wonderful Yule to you and yours!
Moonburn. Haha! Funny you mention that, Cyn. I’m writing a post about the benefits of moon bathing for my blog. The benefits are mind-blowing! I would love chipmunks skittering across me! Sounds like a fun trip.
Random thoughts came to me from this post, Sue.
A clip from Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. Lon Chaney, Jr. plays the wolfman, Larry Talbot, explaining to Wilbur (Costello) and Chick (Abbott) about his affliction:
Larry : I know you’ll think I’m crazy, but… in a half-an-hour the moon will rise and I’ll turn into a wolf.
Wilbur : You and twenty million other guys.
Moonstruck, the movie that inspired me to write, has the premise that the full moon makes us a little crazy, esp. in the area of amour.
Mrs. B loves the moon. Her full name is Cynthia, which means “moon goddess.”
My sleep’s been a little dodgy the last couple of nights. Maybe I need to howl at it tonight. Will that work?
The movie Moon Over Miami (1941) has nothing to do with the moon.
When I was in college, moon was a verb.
You were inspired to write from Moonstruck, Jim? Love that movie!
Aww, you’re married to a Moon goddess. You’re a lucky man!
Your sleep should improve on Wednesday, the New Moon. 😉
Moon was a verb. Hahahaha!
“In college, moon was a verb.” Indeed.
Back in the late ’60s when we finished mid-terms, a bunch of us decided to have a river bottom party. A common thing out in the open plains of the Midwest. Didn’t take a lot, a couple kegs and a bonfire on a river sandbar out miles from town.
We had a large caravan on a back country road headed to our little piece of heaven when I noticed the cars passing us in the opposite direction we acting a little odd. They would pull over to the side of the road as we passed and then when we were halfway by them, they would gun their engines and peel out on the dirt and gravel shoulders.
It wasn’t until we reached the river bottom and set up camp for the night on the sandbar that I had time to ask what had been going on during the drive over. Apparently some bright soul thought it would be funny to put their headlights on and act like we were a funeral procession. Thus causing the cars passing by to pull off the road in respect. They looked over, expecting to see the faces of the bereaved family passing by. Instead they were greeted with double moons pressed to the side windows.
Now such things would probably be a hate crime or something. Back then it was just boys and girls blowing off steam and having a little fun.
In answer to your question, I am fine. And I hope that your words will begin to flow easily, pouring onto the page like a rising tide.
Thanks, Sue, for a very interesting discussion. I will add that the nurses on obstetrics in the hospitals where I have worked were convinced that deliveries were different during a full moon.
I hope that you and your family have a joyous holiday season, and a prosperous new year!
Thank you, Steve! Wishing the same for you and yours.
It’s also said the full Moon can induce labor in pregnant women, which I found fascinating.
Good morning, Sue! What a masterful, dare I say, “moon-tastic?”, post to wake up to, and one that being about Luna, is right up my own alley 🙂 Another fascinating post, rich with information, too.
As others have noted, while there’s no clinical evidence to back it up, when I worked in library-land many of us would swear that the crazies came out in force during a full moon.
I’ve never thought of how the lunar cycle might affect our sleep. It’s certainly something worth exploring. In my case, I can’t recall my sleep issues being tied to the phase of the Moon, but it won’t hurt to keep that in mind and see.
What is undeniable is the Moon’s role in making the Earth what it is, as you detail here. Moreover, the tides may be the reason life arose on this planet.
We’ve been getting drenched once more here in the PNW and I’ve missed out on the tail end of this lunar cycle. The last time I saw the Moon was Thursday morning, during a cloud break, and viewed the waning lunar crescent in binoculars. The Sea of Moisture in the SE part of the Moon was prominent.
As for myself, I’m a bit anxious about getting a lot of words written this week on the latest mystery. I was reminded again yesterday though that when I get out of my own way and let myself write, the words flow.
Here’s to a week of happy writing for all of us here. Wishing you and yours very Happy Holidays, my friend!
Moon-tastic… Love it, Dale!
I thought about you and your amazing binocular photos while researching and writing this post. Folks, if you’re not following @DaleIvan on X-Twitter, you’re missing out on a visual feast!
Sadly, I’m in the same boat with cloud cover and rain/snow, though I also spotted the morning Moon twice last week before the storm rolled in. Each time, Luna lifted my spirits. As for writing, once I recognized the waning crescent phase I reached acceptance, which allowed me to get unstuck. I even slept through the night. Though I’m still looking forward to the New Moon on the 13th, when she will energize me once again. 😉
Thanks, Dale. Happy Holidays!
My poetry book, “Moon Over the Lost City,” has a moon on the cover and contains 23 instances of “moon.” One example:
Stepping Stone
Not every planet receives
a Moon
to agitate primordial seas,
to stir oceans of passion,
a Moon
to light the hunting-grounds
of Love.
Not every world
has a place to climb
when they’ve
run out of
mountains.
❦
My astronomer friend assured me that over 90% of all murders occur within a week of a full or new moon.
Love the poetry, J!
Wow, 90% is a huge number. I wonder if there’s a study…
Fascinating post, Sue! Who hasn’t stood in awe at the sight of the full moon rising? And it makes sense to me that the gravitational pull of the moon would have an effect on us.
There’s an X (Twitter) account called Moon Lover (@themoonlovepic) that posts beautiful pictures of our lunar friend. I re-post them occasionally.
Best wishes to you and your family for a lovely holiday season.
Ooh, thanks, Kay! I’ll have to follow @themoonlovepic. Thank you.
Wishing the same for you and yours. 😀
I started believing in biorhythms in my thirties. Some gym days I could really push the heavy weights, some days I had trouble getting on the machines. My fellow gym rats agreed. The ebb and flow of energy in the body is weird, but it exists.
It sure does, Marilynn. It’s undeniable in my life.
Good stuff, Sue. I’ve had three plus decades of experience in emergency services and I can say, without any categorical or clinical proof, that strange things happen during the full moon phase. I ran this by a pathologist who suspected that since the human brain is primarily water encapsuled inside a rigid case, the tidal effects of the moon twist the brain and attributes to abnormal behavior. And being a boater, it’s a given that tide changes are higher and lower during the full moon. Nature affects human behavior because humans are nature’s product. Merry Christmas, my wonderful friend!
So true, Garry! Merry Christmas, BFF! xo
Love the post, Sue, and thank you for all the wonderful posts you do through the year–as well as the other TKZers!
When I did three day workshops in junior and high schools, there was definitely a difference in the students during full moons. And my granddaughter works as an x-ray tech and she’ll tell you in a heartbeat, she’s much busier during a full moon.
Oh, I bet she’s busy!
Aww, thanks, Patricia. Means a lot. xo
Late to the dance as usual. Before my coach turns into a pumpkin again,
I’m OK. Just about got everything finished for winter around the house, the truck is back some $1427 later and I hope it stays fixed this time.
My cooking efforts get redirected into an eintopf sort of groove this time of year because I can’t cook outside but I did find a neat method for making tasso, which is a south Louisiana smoked ham. I will save that for spring when I can use the smoker again. Because I pruned the apple tree I have a whole lotta applewood chunks for that task.
I’ll be sharing admin chores for a shut up and write group as our Fearless Leader is pulling up stakes and taking off for Cape Girardeau and I am looking for a writing buddy locally.
It’s shaping up to be a creative year if I work it hard.
One thing I hope to resolve is the dichotomy between having faith on the one hand and how science and knowledge and the information tsunami has robbed the world of the mystery that drives faith.
But that moon thing. Gravity and tides and water. Never thought about it but hey.
There’s a story in there.
Sounds like a super productive year ahead, Robert. Good for you! I’m sure you’ll make the most of it. Happy holidays to you and yours.