Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer
##common.pageHeaderLogo.altText##

Original article

Vol. 149 No. 1718 (2019)

Is it the moon? Effects of the lunar cycle on psychiatric admissions, discharges and length of stay

  • Rahul Gupta
  • Daniele R. Nolan
  • Donald A. Bux
  • Andres R. Schneeberger
DOI
https://doi.org/10.4414/smw.2019.20070
Cite this as:
Swiss Med Wkly. 2019;149:w20070
Published
23.04.2019

Summary

BACKGROUND

There is an ongoing debate concerning the connection between lunar cycle and psychiatric illness.

AIMS OF THE STUDY

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the rates of admission to and discharge from psychiatric inpatient treatment, as well as the length of stay, in relation to the lunar cycle, including 20 different categories of phases of the moon.

METHODS

The data of 17,966 cases of people treated in an inpatient setting were analysed. Routine clinical data and data about admission and discharge were used. The lunar calendar was obtained from the website of the US Naval Observatory and was used to calculate the dates of the full moon according to the geographic location of the clinics. The clinics are located in the Canton Grisons in Switzerland. The following phases of the moon throughout the lunar cycle were defined: (a) full moon, (b) quarter waxing moon, (c) new moon, and (d) quarter waning moon. In addition, we coded one day and two days preceding every lunar phase as well as the two days following the respective phases of the moon.

RESULTS

The lunar cycles showed no connection with either admission or discharge rates of psychiatric inpatients, nor was there a relationship with the length of stay.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite the widespread belief that the moon impacts peoples’ mental health and subsequently psychiatric treatment, this study provides no evidence that our celestial neighbour influences our mental well-being.

References

  1. Carroll RT. Full moon and lunar effects. In: The skeptic's dictionary: A collection of strange beliefs, amusing deceptions, and dangerous delusions. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons; 2006.
  2. Trapp CE. Lunacy and the moon. Am J Psychiatry. 1937;94(2):339–43. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.94.2.339
  3. Lilienfeld SO, Arkowitz H. Lunacy and the full moon. Sci Am Mind. 2009;20(1):64–5. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1038/scientificamericanmind0209-64
  4. Calver LA, Stokes BJ, Isbister GK. The dark side of the moon. Med J Aust. 2009;191(11-12):692–4.
  5. Parmar VS, Talikowska-Szymczak E, Downs E, Szymczak P, Meiklejohn E, Groll D. Effects of Full-Moon Definition on Psychiatric Emergency Department Presentations. ISRN Emergency Medicine. 2014;2014:398791. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/398791
  6. McLay RN, Daylo AA, Hammer PS. No effect of lunar cycle on psychiatric admissions or emergency evaluations. Mil Med. 2006;171(12):1239–42. doi:.https://doi.org/10.7205/MILMED.171.12.1239
  7. Bauer SF, Hornick EJ. Lunar effect on mental illness: the relationship of moon phase to psychiatric emergencies. Am J Psychiatry. 1968;125(5):696–7. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.125.5.696
  8. Belleville G, Foldes-Busque G, Dixon M, Marquis-Pelletier E, Barbeau S, Poitras J, et al. Impact of seasonal and lunar cycles on psychological symptoms in the ED: an empirical investigation of widely spread beliefs. Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 2013;35(2):192–4. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2012.10.002
  9. Kamat S, Maniaci V, Linares MY, Lozano JM. Pediatric psychiatric emergency department visits during a full moon. Pediatr Emerg Care. 2014;30(12):875–8. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1097/PEC.0000000000000291
  10. Gorvin JJ, Roberts MS. Lunar phases and psychiatric hospital admissions. Psychol Rep. 1994;75(3, suppl):1435–40. doi:.https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1994.75.3f.1435
  11. Amaddeo F, Bisoffi G, Micciolo R, Piccinelli M, Tansella M. Frequency of contact with community-based psychiatric services and the lunar cycle: a 10-year case-register study. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 1997;32(6):323–6. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00805436
  12. Wilkinson G, Piccinelli M, Roberts S, Micciolo R, Fry J. Lunar cycle and consultations for anxiety and depression in general practice. Int J Soc Psychiatry. 1997;43(1):29–34. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1177/002076409704300103
  13. Núñez S, Pérez Méndez L, Aguirre-Jaime A. Moon cycles and violent behaviours: myth or fact? Eur J Emerg Med. 2002;9(2):127–30. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1097/00063110-200206000-00005
  14. Owen C, Tarantello C, Jones M, Tennant C. Lunar cycles and violent behaviour. Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 1998;32(4):496–9. doi:.https://doi.org/10.3109/00048679809068322
  15. Biermann T, Asemann R, McAuliffe C, Ströbel A, Keller J, Sperling W, et al. Relationship between lunar phases and serious crimes of battery: a population-based study. Compr Psychiatry. 2009;50(6):573–7. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comppsych.2009.01.002
  16. Dowling KW. The effect of lunar phases on domestic violence incident rates. Forensic Exam. 2005;14(4):13–8.
  17. Schafer JA, Varano SP, Jarvis JP, Cancino JM. Bad moon on the rise? Lunar cycles and incidents of crime. J Crim Justice. 2010;38(4):359–67. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2010.04.003
  18. Biermann T, Estel D, Sperling W, Bleich S, Kornhuber J, Reulbach U. Influence of lunar phases on suicide: the end of a myth? A population-based study. Chronobiol Int. 2005;22(6):1137–43. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1080/07420520500398114
  19. Koyuncu M, Ozturk D, Gülen B, Biberoglu S, Topal E, Duman A, et al. Does lunar cycle influence suicide attempts? AMED. 2019. doi:.https://doi.org/10.4328/AEMED.148
  20. Cordi M, Ackermann S, Bes FW, Hartmann F, Konrad BN, Genzel L, et al. Lunar cycle effects on sleep and the file drawer problem. Curr Biol. 2014;24(12):R549–50. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2014.05.017
  21. Haba-Rubio J, Marques-Vidal P, Tobback N, Andries D, Preisig M, Kuehner C, et al. Bad sleep? Don’t blame the moon! A population-based study. Sleep Med. 2015;16(11):1321–6. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2015.08.002
  22. Cajochen C, Altanay-Ekici S, Münch M, Frey S, Knoblauch V, Wirz-Justice A. Evidence that the lunar cycle influences human sleep. Curr Biol. 2013;23(15):1485–8. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2013.06.029
  23. Röösli M, Jüni P, Braun-Fahrländer C, Brinkhof MW, Low N, Egger M. Sleepless night, the moon is bright: longitudinal study of lunar phase and sleep. J Sleep Res. 2006;15(2):149–53. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2869.2006.00520.x
  24. Kollerstrom N, Steffert B. Sex difference in response to stress by lunar month: a pilot study of four years’ crisis-call frequency. BMC Psychiatry. 2003;3(1):20. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-244X-3-20
  25. Neal RD, Colledge M. The effect of the full moon on general practice consultation rates. Fam Pract. 2000;17(6):472–4. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1093/fampra/17.6.472
  26. Parmeshwaran R, Patel V, Fernandes JM. Lunar phase and psychiatric illness in goa. Indian J Psychiatry. 1999;41(1):60–5.
  27. Radin DI, Rebmam JM. Lunar correlates of normal, abnormal and anomalous human behavior. Subtle Energies. 1994;5(3):209–38.
  28. Kanton Graubünden. Wirtschaft. Graubünden im Überblick 2015. [15.02.2015]; Available from: https://www.gr.ch/DE/kanton/ueberblick/Seiten/Wirtschaft.aspx.
  29. Kanton Graubünden. Bevölkerung. Graubünden im Überblick 2015. [15.02.2015]; Available from: https://www.gr.ch/DE/kanton/ueberblick/Seiten/Bevoelkerung.aspx.
  30. Kanton Graubünden. Geografie. Graubünden im Überblick 2015. [15.02.2015]; Available from: https://www.gr.ch/DE/kanton/ueberblick/Seiten/Geografie.aspx.
  31. WHO. The ICD-10 classification of mental and behavioural disorders: clinical descriptions and diagnostic guidelines, Vol. 1. Geneva: World Health Organization; 1992.
  32. United States Navy Observatory. Phases of the Moon. Naval Oceanography Portal 2016. [08/10/2016].
  33. Durm MW, Terry CL, Hammonds CR. Lunar phase and acting-out behavior. Psychol Rep. 1986;59(2):987–90. doi:.https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1986.59.2.987
  34. Jaeger S, Flammer E, Steinert T. Basisdokumentation in der klinischen Praxis: Wie zuverlässig sind BADO-Daten? [Psychiatric basic documentation in practice: how reliable is the data?]. Psychiatr Prax. 2011;38(5):244–9. German. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0030-1266084
  35. Kazemi-Bajestani SMR, Amirsadri A, Samari SA, Javanbakht A. Lunar phase cycle and psychiatric hospital emergency visits, inpatient admissions and aggressive behavior. Asian J Psychiatr. 2011;4(1):45–50. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2010.12.002

Most read articles by the same author(s)