I remember having a discussion with a friend who thought I was crazy when I mentioned the full moon caused chaos at the nursing home.
“That’s an old wives’ tale,” he said. And he laughed at me.
“Hey, if you don’t believe me, just ask anyone who works in a nursing home,” I said. I’ve always been a skeptic about the moon’s influence on human behavior until Jim was a resident at a nursing home. No one had to tell me when the moon was full—it was obvious from the behavior. Residents were restless and agitated at a complete different level.
Okay, so I’ve done a lot of internet research and the scientific sites tend to scoff at the idea that the moon, full or otherwise, would influence behavior. As one site points out, the moon is there all the time whether the sun reflects off it or not.
Astrologers, not astronomers, think the March 19 SuperMoon may cause an increase in natural disasters. In fact, some think the influence of the approaching SuperMoon may have had something to do with the disaster in Japan. I’m not one to align myself with astrologists, so I’m not going to propose that the SuperMoon has anything to do with earthquakes, but I wonder if it will affect human behavior.
Life sometimes teaches us things that science can’t prove. While trolling around the internet, I came across something that makes sense to my practical side. It started with one person who posted that her sleep was disturbed during the full moon. She slept fine the rest of the month, but during the full moon, she could not sleep. Several other people reported the same problem.
Doesn’t this make sense? Scientific studies show that our sleep is disturbed when we have lights on in our bedrooms from TVs, clocks, cell phones, and all other electronic equipment. The less light, the higher quality our sleep is. At the nursing home, every room had a window. On full moon nights, moonlight would make the outside brighter than any other time of the month and disturb sleep. Maybe it was a cumulative effect on sleep building up to the full moon.
I don’t know about you, but I tend toward, well, a little lunacy when I’m sleep deprived. My reasoning skills are not as sharp, and I certainly lean toward my cranky side. If anyone scientifically charted my behavior, it might well ebb and flow with the moon’s fullness.
The moon will be closer than it has been in eighteen years. I know it’s going to disturb my sleep because it is supposed to be spectacular to see, and I want to see it.
You may be like my friend and most scientists, but before you scoff make note of the behavior of those around you. If nothing else, they may react to the weird looks you are giving them.
I can’t help but speculate that the SuperMoon might be like a full moon on overdrive. I believe people’s behavior will be—interesting. The SuperMoon will be something to behold for believers in the power of moon—and for people watchers everywhere.
Copyright © March 2011 by L. S. Fisher
http://earlyonset.blogspot.com/
Sunday, March 13, 2011
