9 proofs of the influence of the Moon on living beings

The belief that what happens to us on Earth has to do with the Moon or the planets is described as astrology and is dismissed as superstition by most scientists.

However, there really is a surprising and intimate relationship between the physiological cycles of living beings and the course of the Moon around the Earth. How does the Moon influence nature and people?

Effects of the Moon on nature

The existence of 24 hour rhythms in the functioning of the human organism is obvious (sleep cycles, body temperature, cortisol or blood pressure) and is well studied by chronobiology. This rhythm is marked by the succession of day and night and it is not difficult to admit that it affects organisms.

Another thing is the cycle of the Moon. For a long time, scientists have not considered that its effect could go beyond that exerted on the tides, however, evidence is growing that the Moon’s impact is more widespread than previously thought.

As the science writer Jo Marchant explains in the magazine New Scientistmany aquatic species They reproduce by releasing eggs and sperm into the water in correspondence with the lunar phases. When this happens, the ocean around Australia’s Great Barrier Reef turns pink from the density of reproductive material. Marine mosquitoes that live on the kelp off the Atlantic coast emerge as adults at the lowest tides that occur. twice each month. Japanese land crabs anticipate high tides, coming down from the mountains where they live to release their young into the sea. North American birds called nightjars (Antrostomus vociferus) hatch during the new moon, two weeks before the full moon, whose light allows the parents to forage for more food. Wildebeests of the Serengeti (Kenya) use the moon to time conception so that the young are born before the spring migration. The Ephedra foemineaa relative of conifers and cycads, exudes a sweet liquid that attracts insects during a full moon. In the Arctic Ocean, plankton sink to the rhythm of the moon in winter. Genetic studies have shown that lunar cycles directly regulate biology in marine species such as coral, polychaetes (marine worms) and sigans (or rabbitfish). The activity of hundreds of coral genes Acropora gemmifera varies with lunar phases, including those involved in key functions like signaling and cell division.

Influence of the Moon on people

The “coincidence” between the approximate duration of the menstrual cycle and the phase of the Moon has not gone unnoticed by humans since ancient times, but there are no incontrovertible studies of a direct relationship. However, some research suggests this possibility:

A 2019 study of more than 2,600 suicides in northern Finland found that the rate increased on a full moon, but only in premenopausal women. German researchers told the European Society for Biological Rhythms that moonlight can set the rhythm of menstrual cycles. Several studies (such as this one, this one, and this one) have also found that sleep quality varies with the phase of the moon, with shorter and poorer sleep at new moon, even under constant laboratory conditions. A study by Thomas Wehr, a psychiatrist and sleep researcher at the National Institute of Mental Health (USA), concluded that the variable sleep and mood patterns of people with bipolar disorder are linked to lunar cycles.

Through what mechanism could it influence?

Scientists investigating the subject believe that the action must be the same as that which causes the tides: the force of gravity. There are studies that suggest that subtle gravitational changes can influence plant growth, for example.

The movements of the Sun and the Moon create subtle waves in the Earth’s magnetic field, Jo Marchant explains. These waves could be perceived by living beings, including humans, thanks to tiny crystals of magnetite or light-sensitive molecules called cryptochromes, but in science all this is just speculation for now. The Moon influences, but we don’t really know how.

Scientific references:

Jo Marchant. Moonstruck. NewScientist.