New Research Suggests Full Moon Can Affect Sleep
2021-02-01
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1You may have noticed brighter night skies recently as we experienced a full moon.
2NASA reports the event, called the Wolf Moon, began Thursday afternoon and ended Saturday morning.
3But did you notice any changes in your personal sleep patterns in the days leading up to the full moon?
4As the latest full moon was beginning, a new study was released suggesting that a full moon can affect human sleep cycles.
5Researchers confirmed that the nights leading up to a full moon have more natural light available after the sun goes down.
6The new research found that in the days before a full moon, people go to sleep later in the evening and sleep for shorter periods of time.
7The results were reported in a study appearing in the publication Science Advances.
8The research was led by biology professor Horacio de la Iglesia of the University of Washington.
9"When we looked at the data it was right there - we didn't expect that pattern at all," de la Iglesia said in a video about the findings.
10He said the study provided clear evidence that a person's sleep-wake cycle is "synchronized" with changes the moon goes through.
11The moon takes 27.3 days to orbit Earth, but it takes 29.5 days to complete a full cycle from New Moon to New Moon.
12The new study measured the sleep patterns of test subjects as the moon progressed through at least one whole 29.5-day cycle.
13Some subjects were tested through two moon cycles.
14On average, people involved in the study slept about 52 minutes less on nights before a full moon.
15They also went to bed about 30 minutes later.
16The research showed that people had the latest bedtimes and the shortest amount of sleep during the nights that were three to five days before a full moon.
17"I became one of the subjects of the study and when I looked back on my own data I could not believe how much my sleep changed," de la Iglesia said.
18Past studies by de la Iglesia's team and other research groups have shown that access to electricity has a clear effect on sleep.
19So the team included this element in their research.
20The study involved 98 individuals living in three different communities of Toba indigenous people in Argentina.
21Each community had different access to electricity.
22One rural community had no electricity access, while a second had only limited access.
23A third community was in a more populated area and had full access to electricity.
24Sleep data was collected electronically from the individuals through wrist monitors.
25The research team said it believes this method resulted in more effective data than some past studies that depended only on user-reported sleep data.
26In addition to the indigenous communities, the researchers also examined sleep data on 464 college students in the Seattle, Washington area.
27That data had been collected for a separate study.
28The researchers said they discovered the same moon cycle patterns in the sleep data from the students.
29"Although the effect is more robust in communities without access to electricity, the effect is present in communities with electricity," de la Iglesia said.
30The scientists say further research is needed to help explain other possible causes for the changes in sleep patterns in the test subjects.
31Such causes could involve biological differences in individuals or social patterns within communities.
32I'm Bryan Lynn.
1You may have noticed brighter night skies recently as we experienced a full moon. NASA reports the event, called the Wolf Moon, began Thursday afternoon and ended Saturday morning. But did you notice any changes in your personal sleep patterns in the days leading up to the full moon? 2As the latest full moon was beginning, a new study was released suggesting that a full moon can affect human sleep cycles. Researchers confirmed that the nights leading up to a full moon have more natural light available after the sun goes down. 3The new research found that in the days before a full moon, people go to sleep later in the evening and sleep for shorter periods of time. 4The results were reported in a study appearing in the publication Science Advances. The research was led by biology professor Horacio de la Iglesia of the University of Washington. 5"When we looked at the data it was right there - we didn't expect that pattern at all," de la Iglesia said in a video about the findings. He said the study provided clear evidence that a person's sleep-wake cycle is "synchronized" with changes the moon goes through. 6The moon takes 27.3 days to orbit Earth, but it takes 29.5 days to complete a full cycle from New Moon to New Moon. The new study measured the sleep patterns of test subjects as the moon progressed through at least one whole 29.5-day cycle. Some subjects were tested through two moon cycles. 7On average, people involved in the study slept about 52 minutes less on nights before a full moon. They also went to bed about 30 minutes later. The research showed that people had the latest bedtimes and the shortest amount of sleep during the nights that were three to five days before a full moon. 8"I became one of the subjects of the study and when I looked back on my own data I could not believe how much my sleep changed," de la Iglesia said. 9Effect on sleep in different areas 10Past studies by de la Iglesia's team and other research groups have shown that access to electricity has a clear effect on sleep. So the team included this element in their research. 11The study involved 98 individuals living in three different communities of Toba indigenous people in Argentina. Each community had different access to electricity. One rural community had no electricity access, while a second had only limited access. A third community was in a more populated area and had full access to electricity. 12Sleep data was collected electronically from the individuals through wrist monitors. The research team said it believes this method resulted in more effective data than some past studies that depended only on user-reported sleep data. 13In addition to the indigenous communities, the researchers also examined sleep data on 464 college students in the Seattle, Washington area. That data had been collected for a separate study. The researchers said they discovered the same moon cycle patterns in the sleep data from the students. 14"Although the effect is more robust in communities without access to electricity, the effect is present in communities with electricity," de la Iglesia said. 15The scientists say further research is needed to help explain other possible causes for the changes in sleep patterns in the test subjects. Such causes could involve biological differences in individuals or social patterns within communities. 16I'm Bryan Lynn. 17Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from the University of Washington, Science Advances and NASA. Hai Do was the editor. 18We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 19________________________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21pattern - n. a particular way that something is often done or repeated 22cycle - n. a series of events that happen in a particular order and are often repeated 23synchronize - v. make something happen at the same time as something else 24access - n. the ability to use or take part in something 25indigenous - adj. produced in or existing naturally in an area 26monitor - n. a device used to measure something, such as heart rate 27robust - adj. strong and healthy