{"id":25776,"date":"2020-07-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-07T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.saatva.com\/does-full-moon-affect-sleep\/"},"modified":"2023-08-28T22:01:02","modified_gmt":"2023-08-28T22:01:02","slug":"does-full-moon-affect-sleep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saatva.com\/blog\/does-full-moon-affect-sleep\/","title":{"rendered":"Here’s Why You Can’t Sleep During a Full Moon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As a fan of Twilight<\/em>, I’m well aware that a full moon will wreak havoc on werewolves. But what about us mere mortals? It turns out we’re subject to moon-related issues too. A study published in the journal Current Biology<\/em> suggests our sleep is significantly impacted by the moon’s 29.5-day lunar cycle<\/a>. Here’s what you need to know about the connection between a full moon and sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does a full moon affect sleep?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For the Current Biology <\/em>study, Swiss researchers had 33 healthy volunteers spend three and a half days at a lab over the course of three years. Seventeen of the participants were between the ages of 20 and 31, and 16 were between the ages of 57 and 74.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During their time in the lab, the researchers measured sleep latency (how long it takes to fall asleep), overall sleep time, time spent in REM sleep and deep sleep<\/a>, brain activity during deep sleep, and nighttime melatonin<\/a> levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study authors originally intended to examine the internal biological rhythm that controls our sleep\/wake cycle\u2014but while grabbing drinks at a bar with a full moon in the night sky, they wondered whether they could extrapolate any data about the potential influence of lunar phases on sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When they analyzed the data, they found:<\/p>\n\n\n\n