You may have noticed brighter night skies recently, while experiencing a full moon. NASA reports that the event, called Wolf Moon, began on Thursday afternoon and ended on Saturday morning. But you noticed a change in your personal sleep patterns in the days leading up to the full moon?
As the last full moon began, a new study was launched suggesting that a full moon could affect human sleep. cycles. Researchers have confirmed that nights leading up to a full moon have more natural light available after sunset.
The new research found that in the days before the full moon, people go to bed later in the evening and sleep for shorter periods of time.
The results were reported in a study published in the publication Scientific advances. The research was led by biology professor Horacio de la Iglesia at the University of Washington.
“When we analyzed the data, they were right there – we didn’t expect this pattern at all,” he told Iglesia in a video of the findings. He said the study provided clear evidence that a person’s sleep-wake cycle is “synchronized“With changes the moon is going through.
The moon takes 27.3 days to orbit the Earth, but it takes 29.5 days to complete a complete cycle from New Moon to New Moon. The new study measured the sleep patterns of the subjects tested as the moon progressed through at least a full cycle of 29.5 days. Some subjects were tested in two monthly cycles.
On average, the people involved in the study slept 52 minutes less on the nights before the full moon. They also went to bed about 30 minutes later. Research has shown that people have had the most recent hours of sleep and the least amount of sleep in the nights that were three to five days before the full moon.
“I became one of the subjects of the study and when I looked back at my own data I couldn’t believe how much my sleep had changed,” he said from Iglesia.
Effect on sleep in different areas
Previous studies by the Iglesia team and other research groups have shown this accession electricity has a clear effect on sleep. So the team included this element in their research.
The study involved 98 people living in three different communities in Toba indigenous people from Argentina. Each community had different access to electricity. One rural community did not have access to electricity, while the second had limited access. A third community was in a more populated area and had full access to electricity.
Sleep data were collected electronically from individuals by wrist monitors. The research team said that this method led to more effective data than some previous studies that depended only on user-reported sleep data.
In addition to indigenous communities, researchers also examined sleep data in 464 students in the Seattle, Washington area. These data were collected for a separate study. The researchers said they found the same patterns of the moon’s cycle in their sleep data from students.
“Although the effect is more robust in communities without access to electricity, the effect is present in communities with electricity, ”said de la Iglesia.
Scientists say more research is needed to explain other possible causes of changes in sleep patterns in tested subjects. Such causes could involve biological differences in individuals or social patterns within communities.
I’m Bryan Lynn.
Bryan 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.
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Words in this story
model – n. a particular way of doing or repeating something
cycle – n. a series of events that happen in a certain order and are often repeated
synchronize – v. it makes something happen at the same time as something else
accession – n. the ability to use or take part in something
indigenous – adj. produced or existing naturally in an area
monitor – n. a device used to measure something, such as heart rate
robust – adj. strong and healthy