Full Moon 'disturbs a good night's sleep'
- September 15, 2013, 3:11 pm
- Health News
- 159 Views
ISLAMABAD, Sep 15 (APP): Light of a full Moon can disturb a good night's sleep of a person, scientists believe.
Researchers found evidence of a "lunar influence" in a study of
33 volunteers sleeping in tightly controlled laboratory conditions, BBC health reported.
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.
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.
Some people may be exquisitely sensitive to the Moon, say
the researchers.
UK sleep expert Dr Neil Stanley said, nonetheless, the small
study appeared to have significant findings.
