How Does the Full Moon Affect Humans?
While it can’t turn you into a werewolf, the lunar cycle may have real power, modern research suggests
I’m in my happy place: Evening yoga class. But this session isn’t as blissful as usual. Along with several of my fellow yogis, we’re struggling to hold a balance posture called tree pose. Standing one-legged with our arms stretched to the sky, we’re teetering and wobbling and swaying — looking like fragile willows in a windstorm.
Our instructor calls out encouragement. “It’s just the full moon!” he says. “It pulls on the ocean tides, and now it’s pulling on you. Embrace the wobbles!”
Wow. I had assumed my shaky tree pose had more to do with my flabby abdominals than a celestial cycle. Is the full moon really to blame?
After a bit of research, I discovered my yoga teacher is in good company. Many people believe the full moon brings on a host of unstable behaviors.
Official belief
More than 40% of medical caregivers think the moon’s phases influence patient behavior, say scientists writing in the World Journal of Surgery. Half of university students think people act weird when the moon is full, a study in Psychological Reports reported.
