...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
The Full Moon,
Mood Swings and Crazy People
CAN
A FULL MOON AFFECT YOUR MOOD?
DOES
THE MOON MAKE PEOPLE CRAZY?
.
The Latin
name for the Moon — “Luna” — is the root of modern words like “lunacy,”
“lunatic” and even “loon,” as in “crazy as a loon.” Hundreds of studies
have failed to turn up evidence of the lunar influence. We call widespread
beliefs that are unsupported by fact folklore.
By Tim Clark
Can the Moon affect your mood?
Does it make people crazy?
Science doesn’t have proof, but could
centuries of folklore be wrong?
Unless you plan to ask a werewolf (which we
don’t recommend), it might be time to explore the myths and reality.
THE
LUNAR CONNECTION
Ancient authorities like Aristotle,
Paracelsus, and Pliny the Elder thought some humans were driven crazy by the
full Moon.
The Latin name for the Moon — “Luna” — is
the root of modern words like “lunacy,” “lunatic” and even “loon,” as in “crazy
as a loon.”
Even today, many doctors, nurses, EMTs,
police officers, and elementary school teachers agree that full Moons will
bring bizarre behavior — 43 percent of healthcare professionals believe in what
some call “the lunar influence,” as do 81 percent of mental healthcare
specialists.
But is there really a lunar connection to
abnormal behavior?
Science says no.
Hundreds of studies have failed to turn up
evidence of the lunar influence.
And those few studies that suggest a
connection are usually disproved or contradicted by others:
o one study says more
animal bites (from cats, rats, dogs, horses) occur at the full Moon
o another says
there’s no increase in dog bites
o one shows an
increase in crime around the full Moon
o others find no increase
in arrests, calls for police assistance, prison assaults, batteries, or
homicides
o admissions for
psychosis are lowest during the full Moon, and psychiatric emergency room
visits decline
o calls to suicide
prevention hotlines peak at the new Moon, not the full Moon
One explanation might be what psychologists
call “confirmation bias” — people are more likely to notice things that confirm
a preexisting belief.
If you’re working
in an emergency room, and something weird happens on the full Moon, your older
and wiser colleagues nod and say, “Must
be a full Moon.”
That’s what they heard from their elders
when they were new at the job. (Psychologists have a name for that, too:
“communal reinforcement.”)
But if something
weird happens at a different phase of the lunar cycle, nobody says, “Must be the third quarter Moon!”
And when nothing unusual happens on the
full Moon, nobody says anything.
We call widespread beliefs that are
unsupported by fact folklore.
Erika Brady, who
teaches folklore at Western Kentucky University, says, “it’s a way of imposing order on something that feels frighteningly out
of control.”
How does a belief that strange things
happen on the full Moon help us feel safer?
The full Moon occurs only once every 29.5
days; that means the other four weeks of the lunar month should be less
dangerous and unpredictable. See when the next full Moon is.
Therefore, this folk belief implies that
our fears about everything from increased bleeding to werewolves may be limited
to only 12 or 13 days per year.
Hey! Maybe that’s why the number 13 worries people!
As
of this writing, the newest edition of the Almanac is available!
Look
insider, order a copy, and get a bundle of BONUSES, with an Old Farmer’s
Almanac Best Value Club Charter Membership!
The Almanac is useful all year long — and makes a great gift, too.
Since
1792, The Old Farmer’s Almanac has spoken to all walks of life: planting charts
for those who grow their own food; recipes for those who live in the kitchen;
Moon and sunrise times for those who watch the skies; and forecasts for those
who don’t like the question of weather left up in the air.
The
Almanac, North America’s oldest continuously published periodical, comes out
every year by September. The latest edition is on sale wherever magazines and
books are sold—and in our Web shop.
Our
operation is based in Dublin, New Hampshire. The words of the Almanac’s
founder, Robert B. Thomas, guide us still: “Our main endeavour is to be useful,
but with a pleasant degree of humor.”
In
recent years, we’ve expanded The Old Farmer’s Almanac line of products—always
with an eye on Mr. Thomas’s wise words about keeping things fun and
practical—so that now we produce many calendars, cookbooks, garden guides, and
even a digital magazine.
https://www.almanac.com/content/can-full-moon-affect-your-mood
You might also like:
Supermoons
CLICK HERE . . . to view . . .
https://puricare.blogspot.com/2021/01/supermoons-what-is-supermoon-and-when.html
............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Moon Illusion
CLICK HERE . . . to view . . .
https://puricare.blogspot.com/2021/02/moon-illusion-why-does-full-moon-look.html
............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
The Moon's Effect on
Ocean Tides
CLICK HERE . . . to view . . .
https://puricare.blogspot.com/2019/12/the-moons-effect-on-ocean-tides.html
............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Worship On The New Moon
CLICK HERE . . . to view . . .
https://puricarechronicles.blogspot.com/2020/10/worship-on-new-moon-although-new-moon.html
............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
The
Phases of the Moon
CLICK HERE . . . to view . . .
https://puricare.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-phases-of-moon-half-of-moons.html
............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Triskaidekaphobia — fear of the number 13
CLICK HERE . . . to view . . .
https://puricarechronicles.blogspot.com/2020/01/triskaidekaphobia-fear-of-number-13.html
............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
CLICK HERE . . . to view . . .
https://puricarechronicles.blogspot.com/2021/01/lucky-number-13-in-bible-number-13.html
No comments:
Post a Comment