Skeptical Woocoverists, rejoice! The mainstream research is starting to reflect the evidence we’ve gathered in our own lives.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/moon-bodies-health-sleep-menstruation
Ever have trouble sleeping on a full moon?
Or noticed that your mental/physical cycles follow a ~30 day pattern?
Or gotten super astro-nerdy, and noticed that your emotions follow the transit of the moon through the signs?
Hey… there might finally be science to reflect those experiences, thanks to improvements in experimental design.
More proof that “science” isn’t infallible; it’s an approach to reason, and results depend on the elegance of the experimental design.
According to this article, prior research was limited by taking snapshot reports of human experiences at random times throughout the moon cycle, which did not reveal any significant patterns.
Instead, in this report, researchers tracked individuals throughout the entire moon cycle. This approach revealed significant changes connecting to the phases of the moon, including notable changes to sleep patterns on full and new moons.
The scientists behind the research concur: human bodies may be more sensitive to external events such as gravity changes than we previously knew.
Something to keep in mind and track in your own life, if you also have a “widely varying experience” from day to day. Perhaps you’re more sensitive to far away events than you previously knew.
On a personal front, I’ve not been a huge moon-tracker myself. A year or two ago I boldly stated “I don’t really notice a difference with the sun or moon cycles.”
In 2024, having paid more attention to those patterns, I would not agree with my prior assertion.
I sleep less during full moons, often lying wide awake while epiphanies launch at the surface of my consciousness.
I notice a trend in each moon cycle – a theme that aligns with the filling and emptying of the moon.
And I notice that my personal experience of myself changes as the moon switches signs, making a full circle through the entire zodiac each month that corresponds with differing energy levels, emotional experiences, priorities, and personal needs.
Who knows what the science will reveal if they continue tracking individual experiences over time… but we can start noticing it ourselves, without research funding.
Have any observations of the effect of the moon in your own life?
I’d love to hear em!
🌚