An old falsehood about full moons is still being promoted by people who are either naive about science or anti-science.

From History.com:

“Since ancient times, full moons have been associated with odd or insane behavior … Even today, despite studies discrediting the hypothesis, some people think full moons make everyone a little loony.”

From Florida Today:

“It has been said that, because the moon influences the ocean tides on Earth, it can also raise and lower emotional ‘tides’ in human beings. That, according to this myth, makes folks behave strangely, and is the reason for the recorded uptick in crime on full-moon nights.’As fun as it is to think we’re all part werewolf, the reality is the full moon just provides more light for criminal activity.”

From Live Science:

“‘It must be a full moon,’ is a phrase heard whenever crazy things happen and is said by researchers to be muttered commonly by late-night cops, psychiatry staff and emergency room personnel. In fact a host of studies over the years have aimed at teasing out any statistical connection between the moon — particularly the full moon — and human biology or behavior. The majority of sound studies find no connection, while some have proved inconclusive, and many that purported to reveal connections turned out to involve flawed methods or have never been reproduced.”

From the American Journal of Emergency Medicine:

“To determine if there is any effect of the full moon on emergency department (ED) patient volume, ambulance runs, admissions, or admissions to a monitored unit, a retrospective analysis of the hospital electronic records of all patients seen in an ED during a 4-year period was conducted in an ED of a suburban community hospital. A full moon occurred 49 times during the 4-year study period. There were 150,999 patient visits to the ED during the study period, of which 34,649 patients arrived by ambulance. A total of 35,087 patients was admitted to the hospital and 11,278 patients were admitted to a monitored unit. No significant differences were found in total patient visits, ambulance runs, admissions to the hospital, or admissions to a monitored unit on days of the full moon. The occurrence of a full moon has no effect on ED patient volume, ambulance runs, admissions, or admissions to a monitored unit.”

From Science Daily:

“Contrary to popular belief, there is no connection between lunar phases and the incidence of psychological problems.”

From Scientific American:

“So if the lunar lunacy effect is merely an astronomical and psychological urban legend, why is it so widespread? There are several probable reasons. Media coverage almost surely plays a role. Scores of Hollywood horror flicks portray full-moon nights as peak times of spooky occurrences such as stabbings, shootings and psychotic behaviors.

Perhaps more important, research demonstrates that many people fall prey to a phenomenon that University of Wisconsin–Madison psychologists Loren and Jean Chapman termed ‘illusory correlation — the perception of an association that does not in fact exist. For example, many people who have joint pain insist that their pain increases during rainy weather, although research disconfirms this assertion. Much like the watery mirages we observe on freeways during hot summer days, illusory correlations can fool us into perceiving phenomena in their absence.”

From the BBC:

“So if the evidence for any link is so slim, why are so many people convinced it’s a real phenomenon? It could be an example of the confirmation bias, where people are more likely to notice and remember information which fits in with what they already believe.”

In short, the claim that a full moon causes changes in human behavior is folklore, and the claim has been scientifically debunked.

If people misbehave or act “crazy” during a full moon, then it is because they choose of their own free will to misbehave or to act “crazy”.

Featured Image Source: NASA

David Robertson

The “Wanted” posters say the following about David: “Wanted: A refugee from planet Melmac masquerading as a human. Loves cats. If seen, contact the Alien Task Force.”

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