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Do Full Moons Make People Crazy?
“Must be a full Moon …” is a common utterance whenever things start to get a little crazy. The idea that a full Moon can drive people mad is an old one. Even the word “lunatic,” and its relatives “loon” and “loony,” derive from the Latin word “luna,” meaning “Moon.”
Urban legends abound on the subject of things going haywire around the time of the full Moon. According to contemporary lore, emergency rooms and veterinary offices are busier when the Moon is full, suicide, arson, and violent crime rates increase, patients in psychiatric hospitals act out more, and there are more traffic accidents. Others even attribute medical occurrences, such as women going into labor, epileptic seizures, and sleepwalking to the full Moon. But is it true?
People who believe that Moon phases affect human behavior point out that the human body is about 60% water. If the phase of the Moon can affect ocean tides, and even cause a bulge in the Earth’s crust, surely it would exert an effect of human beings, they reason.
And, of course, one of the most popular features in the Farmers’ Almanac is our Best Days calendar, which recommends specific days to do everything from plant root crops to cut hair for increased growth, based on the phases of the Moon and other factors. Readers swear that they see better results in their endeavors when they follow these recommendations.
Science has taken the question of the full Moon’s effects seriously enough that there have been a number of studies examining the various claims. Nearly all of them have come up empty, though. All have either found no correlation between the Moon and human behavior, or were later debunked by other studies that questioned their methods.
Scientists are also quick to point out that objects on Earth have more effect on one another than the Moon does. Astronomer George Abell famously noted that a mosquito sitting on your arm exerts more gravitational force on your body than the Moon does.
So why the persistent belief, purportedly even among emergency room personnel and police, in the power of the full Moon to bring on crazy behavior? One hypothesis, posed in a 1999 issue of the Journal of Affective Disorders, suggested that sleep deprivation, caused by the brightness of the full Moon, might have worsened existing mental disorders. Once electric lights were invented, the authors said, the effect was negated, which is why modern studies have found no correlation.
Others say the belief has remained strong due to “confirmation bias,” the idea that people favor information that supports their preconceived notions. In other words, if you expect people to act strange during a full Moon, every strange behavior you encounter during a full Moon reinforces that belief.
What do you think? Do you notice people acting crazier around the time of the full Moon? Share your thoughts below!
Jaime McLeod is the Web Content Editor for the Farmers' Almanac. She is a longtime journalist who has written for a wide variety of newspapers, magazines, and websites, including MTV.com. She enjoys the outdoors, loves eating organic food, and is interested in all aspects of natural wellness.Current Moon Phase
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47 comments
I do not have to see there is a full moon. I become very irritated and easily angered during full moon. Then I look at the calender because I know something not right and it is a full moon.
When I was a teen at a juvenile facility a counselor mentioned to me how people’s attitudes were bad during full moons. I discounted him at first but after a few months, noticed that there was truth to this. Now that I’m married I’m once again witness to behavior during a long period of time: my wife’s and my own. And yes, we both get very moody and quick to fight. It makes no sense, because I can walk around in public and be agitated at people I do not know.
Studies by researchers may prove inconclusive, but that’s because maybe they rely on statistics alone and not observation and interviews. As a researcher I know that anything can be proven or disproven. 
I do beleive that the full moon affects me,.. my mood is awful, i become very irrational, i cry,.. i look out thinking is that full moon there, and yes there it is, i dread the next one…
my twin started saying random stuff and she don’t remember any of it, tonight is a full moon
well a mosquito on your arm will of course excert more gravitational pull as it is in one area? where as the 60% of water in
the human body is made up of particles (molecules)
spread over whole body so would that not make for a more equal pull ? and harder too detect ?
I am 30 years old and my wife is also 30. My wife act abnormal and she tend to remind all past incidents that are worse to her around full moon days. She try to always fight with me on this time period.
YES ! ! The moon dose affect me , im 33 and about 3 yrs. ago i had a spell where i was overwhelmed by random out of the ordinary thoughts, i suddenly became interested in stuff i had never really cared about before, i soon found out that we was haveing a blue moon( 2nd full moon in the same month) after that i started watching moon phases and reading the farmers almanac, i even started journaling , trying to find some kind of pattern between the moon and my behavior, and moods. I cant say that i have any concrete proof that we are affected by the moon, but deep down inside, i do belive that the answer is yes, and after all here i am years later looking at websites like this one.
I go crazy on a full moon and i dont remember anything when i wake up. My friends say I do things that I would never do and secrets slip out, so they wont tell me anything anymore.
Am I crazy?! Please help me!!!
Hi, I am 13 years old, during a full moon I can’t sleep. I try and try but I just can’t fall a sleep. I don’t know what to do, I have to get up early and go to school. One day during a full moon I only had 3 hours of sleep and was super tired in the morning. This will happen until for about a couple of days. And sometime I will be super mad or sad.
Am I crazy??
Please help. If u have any suggestions please email me. Afeyen11@gmail.com
I too sleep less during a full moon. I’m 33 and googled this question to find this post. It sounds outlandish, but it’s true! I cannot sleep during a full moon and a couple days after. I’ve shared this theory with others and they’ve agreed, according to their own sleep patterns. Didn’t know about others psychosis though. Fun to watch and see. Thanks
I also cannot sleep during a full moon even though I am tird I cannot fall into a deep sleep it’s a pain when you got to be up at 5 am for work. Looks common after reading these post may be I am not a wolf lol
My students are wild when there is a full moon.
I am affected by a full moon – have trouble sleeping
I notice this even if I have not noticed it is a full moon until I after I am affected by it
For years I worked at our local court house and every single time there is a full moon there are more domestic violence problems, DWI’s, assaults, disputes, protection orders (restraining orders) and all kinds of problems.
Personally it does affect me as well. When there is a full moon I struggle to fall asleep and stay asleep. For some reason it is almost impossible for me to sleep while there is a full moon and it seems to affect me each and every month.
I am 56 years old. All my life, as far back as I can remember, I cannot sleep during a full moon. No I don’t grow hair and teeth and howl at the moon, or fly on a broom or bite the necks of others. I am a very easy-going, loving mother and wife. However, I do have high blood pressure and insomnia can make it significantly worse. THAT’s what worries me. I’m not crazy……..am I?
I have no belief system as such regarding the full moon but i KNOW it effects me but have only noticed the connection between my bad moods and ratty behaviour in the last year, its always on a full moon and im never the one who realises, its always someone else who says “its a full moon” i actually get and i confess myself totally unreasonable and i laugh at myself as i can see i am doing it but cant stop!
I have worked in homeless shelters for years and yes, the full moon has an effect on people. There are more instances of mental health outbursts, drug and alcohol use and domestic or other violence during the full moon (three days before, during and after). I don’t track the lunar cycles but when it starts to get really crazy I check my calender and 9 times out of 10 it is during the period of a full moon.
Hellow my name is andrew I’m only 13 and there was at least 3 fights at my school and that night it was a full moon then my dog started yaping in the middle of the nigh out the window with out nothing to bark at.now that I read this I am more prepared for a full moon
I’m a geriatric nurse, and my patients definetly act different for three days prior to, day of and three days after a full moon
I have to agree with the fact that the full moon does affect people. My mother and my grandmother for example, will start acting over emotional or more irritable round the full moon. and I usually don’t realize it until i look at a calendar. Another example is me and my boyfriend. he’ll be grumpy and will get mad too easily and I’m just plain overemotional(which is only an intensified form of my already overemotional self),which will cause us to start fighting more. again, we wont notice its close to a full moon until seeing a calender.
There are a group of scientists that believe they have disproved the theory of evolution based on a discovering a microorganism that doesn’t fit in with scientific models of evolution.
David Attenborough (s?) amusingly pointed out in relation to the above that the lack of evidence of one thing does not prove, or disprove another… in this case creationism.
There are scientists who believe in all kinds of gods. There are god believers that don’t believe in global warming.
The full moon almost certainly seems to have some affect on some human behavior, whether it’s actually caused by a scientific phenomenon seems less important than the fact that people are affected by it. …Parties, emotions, menstrual cycles….. In fact, debating it, and doing studies on it is actually human behavior caused by the moons phases, haha.
Maybe scientists should do studies to see if Xmas is real, or birthdays, or New Years eve… these too have an effect on people, but scientists seem less bothered by these phenomena.
Just putting out a different and more moderate take on the debate.
I drove taxis for 9 years and allways thought people were more placid during full moons
but once I picked a nurse up from a major hospital who said she was glad to finish work as it was a full moon ( she pointed it out in the sky ) and she said it would be mayhem in the hospital ater because of the full moon.
The moon was a thin crescent in the western sky..( new moon about 2 days old) I think most people in big cities dont know what a full moon is really
Kath, maybe you should check if he’s cheating on you during those full moons, or he could possibly be suffering from “manopause” (real thing). It’s not the moon.
Have been married to my hubby for 8 years. Every full moon turns into a aggresive moody ….. (you get the picture) some worse than others. Bad ones mean throwing things and behaving really differently. Its like someone switches a switch and he changes. A lovely hubby and full moon hits and for a day or two look out. Totally changes, full moon over and hes back to his lovely self. This full moon was a bad one and had major mood swing and ended up going psyco. A few days later says I feel better now don’t know what was wrong with me!!!! Defentily something in the moon as have watched this behaviour and always around the full moon and at no other time.
Hi Ronnie,
The purpose on this article is to raise the question and prompt discussion, not to issue some edict one way or the other. There have been numerous studies done on this issue, published in a variety of trusted scientific journals. Of course, scientific knowledge is always evolving. Just because one study (or two, or ten) debunks something doesn’t mean the people who conducted the study have all of the information, or have accounted for all of the variables. Another study, down the line, may come up with a different result (and this often does happen – it’s how our knowledge of the world increases). Just because you don’t like the results of the studies I cited here is no reason to make accusations of dishonesty or laziness. Disagreeing is fine – casting aspersions on someone’s credibility, however, is rude.
What studies have been debunked? Fire whoever did your research. ever heard of the full moon ion effect? It has less to do with the water and more to do with the poles (magnetism) this is a true scientifical study. Please read more and search harder before you make such an article, if I didn’t know any better I might have believed you.
I am 67 years old. For as long as I can remember, I have not been able to sleep when there is a full moon. It isn’t because of the light. It happens whether it is clear, cloudy, raining or snowing and the moon isn’t even visable. Most of the time I don’t even realize that the moon is full until I check the calendar the next day.
I am definately affected by a full moon – have trouble sleeping
and am more easily irritated. I notice this even if I have not noticed
it is a full moon until I after I am affected by it. I had not thought of
the fact that the moon affects water (tides) and the body is 60% water – interesting point.
I am surprised the article didn’t mention women’s menstrual cycles, which are absolutely influenced by the moon. The number of days in a typical menstraul cycle (28) is even the same as the moon’s cycle. Isn’t that proof that the moon impacts human behavior?
you betcha people and animals act differently on the full and new moon. I know doctors that won’t do surgery on the full moon as patients seem to bleed more. I can tell by way people drive, calls at work, I need to check calendar. The whole week leading up to full moon gets odder and odder and odder until it hits; SOME things are bigger than science
At age 69 I have a lot of observational years to my credit. I don’t even have to see a full moon to know when it’s full. Some things just defy what some folks define as rational. If the moon can affect the tides….why not people, too?
I have worked with the public for twenty years also. I have worked in a CSU unit in central Florida, and when the full moone, man did we get hit. People coming in the back door with a Baker’s Act, and others coming in the front door to check themselves in voluntary. I also worked with people with disabilites (mental & physical), and same here. We would say “full moon, three days coming, one day here and three days leaving”. It would seem that one full week involving the moon is more than enough. However, I do agree that the moon would affect us humans as we are 60% water, and as above, if the tides in the oceans are affected than us mere humans would be too!
I notice I grow hair on my arms and face and have been told I howl at the moon. I’m not sure I believe this, so, next full moon, I’m going to have someone video tape all my movements.
I used to work at juvenile hall and we ALWAYS had lots of kids in when it was full moon – more so than normal, and they acted out more.
I do notice a change in people with a full moon and I also do all my planting to the moon when I follow this good things happen like good plants
I work in a long-term care centre for the mentally disfunctioning elderly for over 20 yrs and I DO notice a difference in the behaviors of the residents. There is definitely more aggression and a long sleepless night for some.
I agree with the article, no real effect on behavior. I think it is a primal sight thing. Do blind persons or animals behave more erratically during a full moon as well? The thing I enjoy the most during a clear full moon night is to go out fishing in our boat. I have encountered no unusual behavior from the fish.
I can’t sleep when there is a full moon, not for days. I get so tired during the full moon phase. I didn’t sleep last night, tried very hard but NOPE.
I’ve never worked in the medical field but I have worked with the public the last 20 years, the first 10 at a small town grocery store and the last 10 at our small county newspaper and I have found that the most bizarre customers or requests are definitely during a full moon or even as it’s approaching. Why wouldn’t it affect us? It controls huge ocean tides, etc.
71 years old, ex-police officer. Most major police departments have extra duty poistions called the “full moon squad” to serve all night long on nights of the full moon. Their blotters are filled with wierd crimes that occur on these nights.
I agree with Meg & BK. I have 20+ years in the EMS field & I can assure you that auto accidents were more severe, but also people were more easily irritated. We had more shootings & stabbings during the full moon phase. Also the EMS calls in general were more frequent.
I just realized during the full moon each month is when I get restless and go through nights with little to no sleep…. thanks for the post!
I used to work for a Medical Company In Maine. We received a large contract through Maine Health Care Shared Services selling O.T.C ( over the counter) drugs. Every month the D.O.N ( director of nursing) would always look at her calender when ordering. She always ordered 2 more cases of Adult Diapers during the full moon. When I asked why, she said that the Alzeimers ward Always went through more during a full Moon. Go Figure!
I firmly believe the moon phases have an effect on humans! I’m 64 years old and have been told this as far back as I can remember. I also believe that comets and other galactic phenomena have effects on us.People seem to be at their craziest when comets and meteor showers occur! I know this sounds wacky,but it is true.
Living on a farm we’ve had more babies born during these times & also with changes in pressure, for example, A storm rolling through…
Thanks. BK
Hi I can honestly say that for the most part I believe it the moons phases & whether its closer or farther away from us, truly affects us.
Being in the medical field 20 + yrs, I have always seen the people I’ve been taking care of get more emotional, upset, stay up, sleepless & seen a total change of patterned behavior. including a build up to the full moon..Then boom there back to normal. I agree if it effects the oceans, tides & water & such, it most certainly would affect us too.
I’m 79 years old and about 20 years ago I was driving south toward Denver with tears rolling down my cheeks and missing my grown-up children like crazy. When I took a road heading east, I came face to face with a huge full moon. Since that time, those lonesome feelings for my children come with the full moon – as yesterday. I didn’t know it was full moon until it was mentioned on a TV program. Supposedly, positive ions are pushed closer to the earth by the full moon. ?????? All I know is that if affects me.
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