This is how Monday’s supermoon will magically (or tragically?) affect your mood
Listen. We hate to be the bearer of bad news – especially during such a tumultuous week. But we feel it’s our duty to tell you how Monday’s supermoon will affect us. Unfortunately, come Monday, we will all turn into werewolves. It’s indisputable science. We’re sorry, and good luck.
Of course we’re kidding. We’re just desperately trying to lighten the mood over here in America (which yes, feels like an impossible task). In other words, there’s no need to rush to pick out the perfect red flannel shirt to rip your claws through – yet.
In all seriousness, we do have some pretty cool scientific and spiritual facts to share with you regarding supermoon mood swings. So take notes, and prepare for the werewolf apocalypse. Kidding! You guys are so gullible!
The gravitational pull between the moon and sun on either side of Earth during full or new moon phases causes a drastic increase in tides. Many science-lovers argue that because our bodies are 75% water, then just like the tides, the full or new moon must affect us as well. But the professional science community is extremely skeptical about the correlation between human behavior and moon phases.
Larry Sessions from earthsky.com says our bodies are, in fact, affected by this gravitational pull, but the effect is “infinitesimally small and irrelevant.”
To expand on Sessions’ article, this video from space.com explains that science proves that the phenomenon of temporary psychosis related to the full moon phase is just a myth.
Although us humans are supposedly unaffected by the moon, some animals are. Ernest Naylor, a professor emeritus of marine biology and ocean science at Britain’s Bangor University, wrote a book called Moonstruck: How Lunar Cycles Affect Life. In his book, Naylor explains that crayfish “adjust their activity levels according to moon phases, even when the moon is not visible.” Naylor told The Washington Post that the reproduction cycle of turtles and horseshoe crabs is also based on lunar cycles.
That’s some prehistoric science right there.
Naylor said that when it comes to humans, “rigorously controlled” sleep studies suggest that “sleep patterns vary with the phase of the moon,” even when the subjects were unaware of what phase the moon was in. “This,” he told the Washington Post, “raises the possibility that we have genes with a ‘circalunar’ clock as well as ones that follow a circadian cycle.” Huh!
And although this “circalunar” clock is not responsible for a change in our emotional behavior during full moons, it might be the reason why ancient religions like Judaism and Buddhism originally perceived the full moon to be holy. Perhaps they noticed the circalunar affect on their daily lives, before anyone knew was circalunar even meant.
The Spiritual Science Research Foundation even published an article, from a spiritual perspective, about the lunar effects on man. They tell us that every cosmic body (stars, planets, satellites, etc.) “emanates subtle (intangible) frequencies,” which affect us to a certain degree. “The frequencies emanating from the Moon,” the article suggests, “affect the frequencies of the mental body, i.e. mind of human beings.”
The article states that the moon frequencies have the ability to bring emotions and desires from our subconscious mind to our conscious mind, thus making us more emotionally attuned to those feelings. The Foundation, like Naylor, believes that the subconscious minds of animals are also affected by the lunar cycle, which brings a heightened sense of basic instinct to their conscious mind during certain moon phases.
Now, there isn’t a ton of scientific evidence to back up most of the claims made by the Spiritual Science Research Foundation, but it’s interesting to note the overlap between their research and Naylor’s.
Maybe keep record of certain feelings and decisions you make during the days surrounding the supermoon. There is still a lot to be studied when it comes to our minds and the moon, so maybe it’s time to take science into our own hands and figure out how our bodies react to the moon, if at all.
