A Full Moon’s Impact on Your Sleep May Be Greater Than You Realize

Light is the driving force behind our natural circadian rhythm, according to the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. Shifting between the sunlight of day and darkness of night within a 24-hour period affects our behaviors and our physical biology — from hormone release to the regulation of our body temperature. At night, for example, our body produces melatonin in response to darkness, preparing our body for sleep. However, there are numerous ways in which this natural cycle can be interrupted.

One source of this disruption is artificial blue light, such as from our laptops or cell phones. Could moonlight have a similar effect? A 2024 study published in Current Biology revealed that in the days preceding and following a full moon, brain activity associated with deep sleep fell by 30%, time needed to fall asleep increased by five minutes, and an average of 20 minutes of sleep was lost each night.

Commenting on these findings, lead study author and biologist Christian Cajochen states via Science, “A lot of people are going to say, ‘Yeah, I knew this already. I never sleep well during a full moon.’ But this is the first data that really confirms it.” There is a growing body of research showing similar results.

The full moon keeps you up, but it might not be moonlight

Man awake in bed staring at alarm clock

There is still debate in the scientific community regarding the validity of these claims. For example, as the Sleep Foundation points out, moonlight gives off only 7% of the brightness that sunlight does — making our electronics a more significant light source than the moon.

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Even so, a 2024 study published in Science Advances found that lunar cycles may still have a pull on our quality of sleep. Using wrist monitors to analyze the sleep patterns of people across three different indigenous Argentinian communities, researchers discovered that in the three to five days before a full moon, participants experienced decreased sleep duration over the course of the night, as well as increased wakefulness at night (via mindbodygreen). Interestingly, this proved true across communities in both rural and urban settings, ruling out light exposure from electricity as a possible contributing factor. These findings also proved true when the same researchers analyzed a previous study of more than 400 Seattle-based students.

However, due to modern day lighting, researchers theorized that the students likely received less moonlight exposure than the indigenous communities they studied (via mindbodygreen). Therefore, moonlight could not be definitively deemed the cause for the sleep changes observed in both studies. Instead, some scientists believe that the moon’s gravitational pull may potentially play a role, but more research is needed to figure out exactly what is keeping you awake.

Lesa O'Leary
Lesa O'Leary

Lesa is a dynamic member of OzHelp’s Service Delivery Team as the Service Delivery Team Leader and Nurse. She has been with OzHelp for five years and believes in leading by example. Lesa has experience in the not-for-profit sector, as well as many roles throughout different industries and sectors, including as a contractor to the Department of Defence. She has expertise in delivering OzHelp’s health and wellbeing programs and engaging with clients in a relaxed and comfortable manner that aligns with the organisation’s vision and objectives.

Lesa has a Certificate 4 in Nursing from Wodonga Tafe, Certificate 4 in Mental Health from Open Colleges, and is currently undertaking a Certificate 4 in Training and Assessment from Tafe NSW. For the past few months Lesa has been an Education and Memberships committee member of the ACT Branch of the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC).