Friday's Fact or Fiction: Lunar Lunacy

Photo Credit: niecyisms

As beautiful as a full moon is to behold, the moon definitely is the scapegoat for a lot of happenings. The phenomena attributed to the moon's influence on behavior is known as "The Lunar Effect".  A deriviation from the Latin word for moon which is luna' is lunacy which means insanity.  The Lunar Effect has been attributed to:

• increased acts of violence and aggression
• increased crime rates
• higher suicide occurances
• increased hospital and medical facility admissions
• more frequent episodes of depression, anxiety and mental illness
• an increase in animal attacks
• an effect on the menstrual cycles of females 

We have all heard the saying, and have maybe even said, "There must be a full moon tonight!", but is there truth to the saying?

Numerous research studies have been conducted on all of these topics and findings have proven the full moon's effect on people, animals and their actions both conclusive and inconclusive.  The inconsistencies in the results can happen when the experimental study analyzed a limited sample of the population, improprly analyzed statistical data of failed to note other variables in their reseach findings.

Some real facts on the moon are that the moon's cycle last about 29.53 which is similar to a woman's approximately 28 day menstrual cycle.  There can be two full moons in a month, the second full moon is known as the Blue Moon, which recently occured during August, 2012.  There can also be a month in which there is no full moon, which will next happen in  February, 2018.  Mark your calendars!