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The full moon can have an impact on sleep duration and quality
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
Experts from Switzerland have finally managed to prove the connection between the lunar cycle and the duration of nighttime sleep. For a long time, many people complained of feeling unwell and sleeping too lightly during the full moon. Recent research by scientists from the University of Basel has shown that there really is a connection between the full moon and the quality of sleep.
For several months, Swiss scientists have been studying the possible influence of the lunar cycle on the well-being and behavior of adults. The head of the research team told the press that when the moon is in the full moon phase, the average duration of human sleep decreases by 25-30 percent. This fact explains the numerous complaints about poor sleep during the full moon.
The study, conducted at the University of Basel (Switzerland), involved experts studying the influence of the lunar cycle on human behavior with the help of thirty volunteers for four months. For several months, the participants in the experiment were forced to fall asleep in laboratory conditions so that scientists could record not only the duration of sleep, but also behavior during sleep. Volunteers of different sexes and ages took part in the experiment. Also, during nighttime sleep, experts observed brain activity, eye movements, and changes in the hormonal levels of the participants.
The results of the experiments confirmed the guesses of the research team leaders: the phases of the moon can actually have a significant impact on the quality and duration of nighttime sleep. During the full moon and even a few days before it, the average duration of sleep for all participants dropped by 20-30 percent. Moreover, almost every volunteer complained of restless sleep and difficulty falling asleep. The results of the tests showed that the level of melatonin in the body during the full moon period is noticeably reduced.
Melatonin is a hormone whose concentration changes in the body affect circadian rhythms. It can be taken in tablets to adjust the "internal alarm clock", for example, during long trips and time zone changes. Previously, European medical periodicals published information that the quality of sleep during the full moon may depend on the brightness of the moonlight. A recent experiment conducted in Basel refuted this theory, since during the study of the influence of the lunar cycle on human sleep, the experiments were conducted in rooms closed from sunlight and moonlight.
The study leader reported that during the full moon, all participants in the experiment slept 15 minutes less than on any other day. The main reason for the reduction in nighttime sleep is that during the full moon phase, each person spends more time falling asleep. Also, all participants reported that during the full moon, they woke up in the middle of the night.
In astronomical terms, a full moon lasts only a few minutes and is a phase of the moon during which the difference in ecliptic longitude of both the moon and the sun is 180 degrees. When the Basel scientists mention the full moon in their study, they mean a few days during which the moon is in a state closest to full moon.
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