Contents
- Black, red, full … Understanding the phases and changes of the moon
- Effects and influence of the full moon on children’s sleep: studies that contradict each other
- Why during the full moon, sleep is disturbed and prevents the child from sleeping?
- How to mitigate the effects and impacts of full moon nights and put your child to sleep?
Your baby is having trouble sleeping. This may be due to natural causes, such as hunger, infant colic or teething, for example. Sleep disorders can also be psychological for children, reflecting separation anxiety or a new environment. However, can’t these sleep difficulties have a more “esoteric” origin, especially that of the full moon? It happens indeed that we denounce the lunar cycle as the cause of the decrease in the duration of our sleep, but is it founded? And can this impact our child? We take stock.
Black, red, full … Understanding the phases and changes of the moon
The moon goes through different phases throughout the year. So about all 28,5 days, it performs an entire phase comprising several cycles. There are eight in all (see diagram below). It should be noted that the term “red moon«. This is the lunar cycle that follows the Easter period. Finally, the black moon corresponds to the period of the lunar phase where it does not appear in the sky.
Effects and influence of the full moon on children’s sleep: studies that contradict each other
The question of the influence of the full moon on children’s sleep is not new. In recent years, many scientific studies emerged to determine whether or not full moon nights disturb the sleep of children and adults. Thus in 2013, researchers from the University of Basel had demonstrated through various analyzes on adults that the full moon had a real impact on sleep, and that we lost 20 minutes of sleep on average during a full moon. In 2016, researchers from different universities across the globe (United States, Canada and Denmark) carried out analyzes on more than 5 children. The scientists’ results turned out to be less convincing. A change barely five minutes had been noticed on full moon nights. So science is far from unanimous in considering that the influence of the full moon is yes or no a myth.
Why during the full moon, sleep is disturbed and prevents the child from sleeping?
The experience of parents seems more relevant than studies to evoke the influence of the moon … Many of them indeed relate the significant effects of the lunar star on children’s sleep, with more frequent awakenings on the evenings of full moon, difficulty falling asleep… A study dating from January 2021 points to a probable cause of the possible influence of the phases of the moon on sleep. Carried out by teams from North and South America, this showed that the results were significantly different in indigenous communities in Argentina. It seems indeed that the full moon could have an impact on our ancestors, before the appearance of electricity. The greater brightness of the full moon on those evenings could have consequences on our sleep cycles. Today, in the all-electric age, these effects may persist, but they remain minimal.
How to mitigate the effects and impacts of full moon nights and put your child to sleep?
As we saw above, there is no scientific proof of the influence of the moon on your baby. If your child is having trouble sleeping, there may be different causes. In all cases, it is essential to set up a good routine so that he sleeps properly. For example, you can give him a relaxing bath before going to sleep. Right before bedtime, you can sing a lullaby or cuddle him, so he can relax and fall asleep peacefully.