Knowledge Tree
lunar cycle
Also known as: lunar cycles
Facts (80)
Sources
Lunar effect - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org 30 facts
claimA Swedish study of 492 women and 360 men found that men whose sleep was recorded during the waxing period of the lunar cycle exhibited lower sleep efficiency and increased time awake after sleep onset compared to men whose sleep was measured during the waning period, while women's sleep remained largely unaffected.
claimLiterature reviews and meta-analyses have found no correlation between the lunar cycle and human biology or behavior.
claimThe approximately monthly cycle of menstruation in humans is not influenced by the lunar cycle, and the similarity in timing between the two cycles is coincidental.
referenceThe lunar cycle affects human and animal behavior and physiology, as reviewed by M. Zimecki in a 2006 article in Postepy Hig Med Dosw.
claimThe reproduction timing of various green (Chlorophyta) and brown (Phaeophyceae) seaweed species is influenced by lunar cycles.
claimCloud cover disrupts the influence of the lunar cycle on the growth of the peat moss Sphagnum riparium.
claimLunar cycles have influenced human culture throughout history.
claimThe lunar cycle may affect hormonal changes in insects.
claimThe Barcelona research team acknowledged that wide variations in hospital admissions throughout the lunar cycle limited the interpretation of their results.
referenceA. Sjödin, M. F. Hjorth, C. T. Damsgaard, C. Ritz, A. Astrup, and K. F. Michaelsen published a study in April 2015 titled 'Physical activity, sleep duration and metabolic health in children fluctuate with the lunar cycle: science behind the myth' in the journal Clinical Obesity, which suggests that physical activity, sleep duration, and metabolic health in children fluctuate with the lunar cycle.
claimResearchers use the marine bristle worm Platynereis dumerilii to study the molecular mechanisms by which marine species detect and respond to the lunar cycle.
claimThe lunar cycle affects ecosystem and heterotrophic respiration in boreal Sphagnum-dominated peatlands.
referenceIain McGowan and Mark Owens published 'Madness & The Moon: The Lunar Cycle & Psychopathology' in the German Journal of Psychiatry in 2006.
referenceMichał Zimecki reviewed the effects of the lunar cycle on human and animal behavior and physiology in a 2006 article published in Postepy Higieny I Medycyny Doswiadczalnej.
claimSenior police officers in Brighton, UK, announced in June 2007 plans to deploy additional officers during the summer to address trouble they attribute to the lunar cycle.
claimIn January 2008, New Zealand Justice Minister Annette King suggested that a series of stabbings in New Zealand might have been caused by the lunar cycle.
measurementBy the late 1980s, at least 40 published studies had examined the purported connection between the lunar cycle and human lunacy.
claimDipsastraea speciosa coral synchronizes spawning in the evening or night, around the last quarter moon of the lunar cycle.
claimThe coral species Dipsastraea speciosa synchronizes spawning in the evening or night, typically around the last quarter moon of the lunar cycle.
measurementBy the late 1980s, at least 20 published studies had examined the purported connection between the lunar cycle and human birth rates.
referenceIlia D. Dichev and Troy D. Janes published a paper in 2001 titled 'Lunar Cycle Effects in Stock Returns' via SSRN, which analyzes the impact of the lunar cycle on stock market returns.
claimThere is strong evidence that lunar cycles affect the behavior and physiology of a number of marine animals, particularly regarding reproductive synchrony.
referenceChristian Benedict, Karl A. Franklin, Shervin Bukhari, Mirjam Ljunggren, and Eva Lindberg published a study in 2022 titled 'Sex-specific association of the lunar cycle with sleep' in the journal Science of the Total Environment, which investigates the sex-specific association between the lunar cycle and sleep.
claimThere is no solid evidence that human biology is regulated by the lunar cycle, despite persistent beliefs that mental health and other behaviors are modulated by the phase of the moon.
claimA growth component of the genus Sphagnum is correlated to the lunar cycle, with accelerated growth occurring during the new Moon.
claimNearly half of twenty-three studies that claimed to show a correlation between the lunar cycle and human behavior contained at least one statistical error.
measurementAn analysis of 564,039 births in North Carolina between 1997 and 2001 showed no predictable influence of the lunar cycle on deliveries or complications.
claimThe lunar effect is a hypothesized link between the 29.5-day lunar cycle and the behavior or physiology of various species, including humans.
claimIncreased cloud cover appears to disrupt the influence of the lunar cycle on the growth of the genus Sphagnum.
referenceD.E. Campbell and J.L. Beets published a study in 1978 titled 'Lunacy and the Moon' in the Psychological Bulletin, which reviews the relationship between the lunar cycle and human behavior.
The lunar cycle: effects on human and animal behavior and physiology pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov 9 facts
claimThe lunar cycle impacts human reproduction, specifically affecting fertility, menstruation, and birth rates.
claimScientific understanding of the effects of the lunar cycle on human and animal behavior and physiology is limited compared to the understanding of seasonal and circadian rhythms.
claimThe lunar cycle may affect hormonal changes in insects, which are early in phylogenesis.
claimThe lunar cycle affects taste sensitivity and the ultrastructure of pineal gland cells in laboratory rats.
claimInsects exhibit hormonal changes linked to the lunar cycle early in phylogenesis.
claimMelatonin and endogenous steroids may mediate cyclic alterations of physiological processes in response to the lunar cycle.
claimHuman behaviors such as traffic accidents, crimes, and suicides appear to be influenced by the lunar cycle.
claimHuman and animal physiology are subject to seasonal, lunar, and circadian rhythms.
claimSome research reports find no correlation between the lunar cycle and human reproduction or admittance to clinics and emergency units.
Moonlight shapes how some animals move, grow and even sing sciencenews.org Jul 8, 2019 7 facts
claimCommon wildebeests (Connochaetes taurinus) adjust their movement patterns based on the lunar cycle, choosing to stay in safe areas during dark nights and venturing into dangerous areas where lion encounters are more likely during brighter nights.
claimThe lunar cycle, specifically the presence or absence of moonlight, influences animal reproduction, foraging, communication, and other physiological and behavioral aspects.
measurementAfrican buffalo (Syncerus caffer) weigh as much as 900 kilograms and are the least responsive to changing predation risks associated with the lunar cycle.
claimLions in the Serengeti, Tanzania, are more successful at ambushing prey during the darker phases of the lunar cycle.
claimAfrican buffalo (Syncerus caffer), which weigh up to 900 kilograms, are the most formidable prey for lions and show the least responsiveness to changing predation risks associated with the lunar cycle.
claimCommon wildebeests (Connochaetes taurinus) are the most attuned to the lunar cycle among the studied species and plan their nighttime activity based on the moon's phase.
claimDung beetles use the polarization signal of moonlight to navigate, with the strength of this signal weakening as the moon gets darker across the lunar cycle.
To the Moon and Back: How Lunar Cycles Shape Earth's Wildlife nathab.com May 28, 2025 4 facts
claimThe date of Easter is determined by the lunar cycle, occurring on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox.
claimCoral reefs synchronize spawning events with lunar cycles, releasing eggs and sperm during slack tides to increase survival rates.
measurementA complete lunar cycle, defined as the time from one full moon to the next, lasts 29.5 days.
claimMoonrise occurs 49 minutes later each day due to the difference between the lunar orbital period and the length of the lunar cycle.
How does the Moon affect life on Earth? | Natural History Museum nhm.ac.uk 4 facts
quote“For many animals, particularly birds, the Moon is essential to migration and navigation. Others will time their reproduction to coincide with the specific phases of the lunar cycle.”
claimCircalunar rhythms are biological cycles tied to lunar cycles, which can affect various organisms and may operate alongside circadian rhythms.
claimCoral spawning on the Great Barrier Reef is influenced by multiple factors, including temperature, salinity, food availability, and the lunar cycle.
claimMany animals, particularly birds, utilize the Moon for migration and navigation, while others time their reproduction to coincide with specific phases of the lunar cycle.
Why oysters close on the full moon—and more odd lunar effects on ... nationalgeographic.com Apr 17, 2019 4 facts
claimMany types of animals possess biological clocks finely tuned to lunar cycles, which drives specific patterns of behavior.
measurementArctic zooplankton respond to the lunar cycle, which lasts 24 hours and 50 minutes, by rising and diving as the moon rises and sets.
claimThe lunar cycle influences food availability for marine organisms by impacting tides and ocean currents.
claimThe lunar cycle, through its impact on tides and ocean currents, drives many marine organisms to mate at specific times of the month and year.
The Lunar Clock Beneath the Waves: How Marine Life Runs on ... bioneers.org Jul 16, 2025 3 facts
claimThe genetic clock of Platynereis dumerilii worms operates on a lunar cycle.
claimCertain organisms possess genes that activate in synchronization with the lunar cycles of waxing and waning.
claimMarine organisms, including coral reefs, sea worms, and sand-dwelling crustaceans, synchronize biological behaviors such as reproduction and movement with lunar cycles.
Lunar Cycles And the Underwater World dipndive.com 3 facts
claimYellowfin tuna and bigeye tuna exhibit similar lunar-linked swimming patterns to sharks, moving between deep and shallow waters based on the lunar cycle.
claimThe lunar cycle affects the marine environment directly and indirectly through variations in moonlight intensity and tidal movements.
measurementA lunar cycle, equivalent to the astronomical synodic month, takes place every 29.5 days, during which the moon completes its waxing and waning phases from new moon to full moon and back to new moon.
3 ways the moon affects wildlife discoverwildlife.com 2 facts
claimThe mass spawning of the Great Barrier Reef is triggered by the lunar cycle and occurs between October and December, just after the full moon, alongside factors like water temperature, salinity, and food availability.
claimSome animals time their reproduction to coincide with specific phases of the lunar cycle.
How Does the Moon Influence Animal Behavior? | The Scientist the-scientist.com Jan 12, 2025 2 facts
claimResearchers have studied the effects of lunar cycles on human behaviors and biological processes, including sleep habits, mental illness, and menstrual cycles, for decades.
claimScientific studies regarding the effects of lunar cycles on human behaviors and biological processes have produced conflicting results, with some finding correlations and others finding no evidence for these links.
The moon has power over animals - Science News Explores snexplores.org Nov 7, 2019 2 facts
measurementAfrican buffalo weigh up to 900 kilograms (almost 2,000 pounds) and are the least likely of the studied prey species to alter their foraging locations based on the lunar cycle.
referenceMeredith Palmer's team published their findings regarding the lunar cycle's impact on prey behavior in the journal Ecology Letters.
Moon phase and fish behavior - North Carolina Sea Grant ncseagrant.ncsu.edu Jan 27, 2025 2 facts
referenceThe 2024 scientific paper 'Lunar cycle effects on pelagic predators and fisheries: insights into tuna, billfish, sharks, and rays' by Andrzejaczek et al., published in Rev Fish Biol Fisheries, investigates the biological and behavioral impacts of the lunar cycle on tuna, billfish, sharks, and rays.
claimA review of 190 previous studies on the lunar cycle's effect on fish behavior focused on large, surface-level species, specifically tuna, billfish, sharks, and rays.
How Lunar Cycles Guide the Spawning of Sea Creatures smithsonianmag.com Mar 8, 2023 2 facts
claimMarine bristleworms use a six-hour window of moonlight exposure during a full moon to synchronize their spawning with monthly lunar cycles.
claimDiverse marine animals, including sea mussels, corals, polychaete worms, and certain fishes, are thought to synchronize their reproductive behavior with the lunar cycle.
An Overview of Monthly Rhythms and Clocks - Frontiers frontiersin.org 2 facts
claimYonezawa, Uchida, Tomioka, and Matsuki found that the lunar cycle influences spontaneous delivery in cows in a 2016 study published in PLoS One.
claimCajochen, Altanay-Ekici, Münch, Frey, Knoblauch, and Wirz-Justice provided evidence that the lunar cycle influences human sleep in a 2013 article published in Current Biology.
5 Surprising Connections Between the Moon and Marine Life seashorerealtync.com Jun 19, 2023 1 fact
claimThe lunar cycle plays a crucial role in the reproductive patterns of many marine organisms, including species such as horseshoe crabs.
How The Moon Controls Biology - YouTube youtube.com Nov 15, 2017 1 fact
claimMany animals use moonlight and Earth's lunar cycle to run their biological clocks.
How Does the Moon Affect Marine Life Behavior? | Scuba Diving scubadiving.com Dec 15, 2021 1 fact
claimOyster feeding behavior varies in speed depending on the lunar cycle, which may be caused by changes in tidal strength affecting food availability.
Wildlife Wednesdays: Odd Lunar Effects on Sea Animals weatherology.com 1 fact
claimThe lunar cycle influences food availability for oysters by affecting tides and ocean currents, with full and new moons causing stronger tidal pulls due to the alignment of the Earth and Moon, and half moons causing weaker tidal pulls.