New research indicates that the phases of the moon affect menstruation, night rest and other biological functions, even when not exposed to its light.
Maybe it no longer serves to orient us on the street at night, nor brings droves of women to give birth in the hospital, but the light of the Moon still today, in our increasingly hyper-technological world, is a synchronizer of the organism’s activities. And not just for women, albeit for the period the influence seems certain: this is demonstrated by a German research from the University of Wurzburg for which some women were followed for many years, observing how there is a tendency to synchronize with the lunar cycles and is more pronounced for the under 35swhere the menstrual cycle is synchronous to the full moon in about a quarter of cases (after this age it happens once in ten), and in those who are less exposed to artificial lights in the evening.
Owls and larks
Who owl and goes to bed and wakes up late does not go in rhythm with the Moon but a synchrony, at least partial, seems to exist as a confirmation Roberto Manfredinichronobiologist and director of the Department of Medical Clinic of the University of Ferrara: There are clock genes regulated by the rhythms of the Moon to which we “obey” even regardless of the moonlight to which we are exposed: 60 per cent of Europeans live in areas where night light pollution it covers the light of the stars and therefore cannot substantially notice the variations of the moon light, despite this, effects have been observed on biological functions and not only on the menstrual cycle.
Sleep, for example, heavily influenced by the moon:
experiments conducted on healthy volunteers who slept in rooms without windows, in which therefore the moonlight could not be perceived in any way, have shown that in the days of full moon the time to fall asleep is lengthened by an average of five minutes and the total duration sleep is shortened by about twenty minutes.
The study on the indigenous people of Northern Argentina
A recent research that compared the sleep of indigenous people in Northern Argentina with that of the inhabitants of Seattle, in the United States, confirms this: in those without access to electricity the influence of moonlight on sleep is more evident but even in our cities the effect is there, albeit more nuanced. In short, we are like all other animals, in which the concordance with the lunar rhythms is much clearer: even in abyssal fish without eyes cycles marked by the movements of the satellite have been demonstrated and in many species the parts are synchronized with the full moon. In humans, however, this no longer happens or at least no longer demonstrable, due to the large number of caesarean sections and the use of methods of induction of labor, observes Roberto Manfredini.
Gender differences
Not all of us are equally sensitive to the effects of the Moon, for example it occurred that full moon insomnia a little more frequent in women; the connection between lunar rhythms and quality of sleep, however, could also explain the greater irritability and fatigue that many complain about on the days when the moon is brighter. After all, the light-dark rhythm is the greatest synchronizer of our organism, in the 24 hours but also throughout the year.
Seasons
Therefore, there are not only cycles in sync with the Moon, but also with the seasons: an Israeli study of over 3.5 million people aged 20 to 80 recently showed that there is a clear seasonality in the production of many hormones and that, for example, those that regulate growth, reproduction but also stress peak in late summer. Seasonal rhythms exist and, again, they depend on the amount of light to which we are exposed: in winter the percentage of depression and suicides increases precisely due to the greater share of darkness, the chronobiologist points out.
Daylight savings time
The same is true for Countries in high latitudesIt is no coincidence that the request for the abolition of summer time comes from Finland, a country where hospitalizations for depression are much higher than others that are sunnier and brighter. Also for cardiovascular diseases there is an evident seasonality – underlines the expert -. Heart attacks, pulmonary embolisms, sudden deaths and ruptures of aneurysms are more frequent in winter and not only because of the cold, but above all because of the differences in intensity and in the hours of light to which one is exposed. In short, light is our conductor, for the longer cycles and pure for the shorter ones. All are linked together, even those less than 24 hours such as the sleep phases, which last 90 minutes: we must sleep in the dark hours to be truly rested, concludes Manfredini.
Risky knocking out enzymes and cells
With artificial light we have now moved away from natural rhythms, how can we recover them to feel better? For cycles longer than 24 hours, the same rules apply that are used to avoid getting the daily circadian rhythms high: we have to follow the trend of sunlight more, we may not like going to bed early in the evening but for millennia we have carried a regulation in our genes that is based on natural light and dark, replies Roberto Manfredini. Nutrition, sleep and habits must be calibrated on these: working on the computer in the evening or eating at night in the long run hurts us, because it disrupts the working rhythms of enzymes, cells and tissues. The body needs to follow its daily and seasonal rhythms to anticipate events and be prepared to manage them. Modify them as requiring us to always be on alert, so over time living out of sync makes us sick.
March 1, 2022 (change March 1, 2022 | 10:17)
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