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. 2021 Jul;43(7):e2100054.
doi: 10.1002/bies.202100054. Epub 2021 May 24.

Longitudinal observations call into question the scientific consensus that humans are unaffected by lunar cycles

Thomas A Wehr  1 , Charlotte Helfrich-Förster  2
Affiliations

Longitudinal observations call into question the scientific consensus that humans are unaffected by lunar cycles

Thomas A Wehr et al. Bioessays. 2021 Jul.

Erratum in

Abstract

Recent longitudinal observations show that human menstrual cycles, sleep-wake cycles and manic-depressive cycles can become synchronized with lunar cycles, but do so in uniquely complex and heterogeneous ways that are unlikely to have been detected by past studies. Past studies' negative results have given rise to a scientific consensus that human biology and behavior are unaffected by lunar cycles. The recent observations show that synchrony can be temporary, and can occur with more than one type of lunar cycle, more than one phase of a lunar cycle and more than one resonant frequency of a lunar cycle. Given the variability of human responses to lunar cycles, aggregate analyses used in almost all previous studies would likely have cancelled out individuals' responses and led to false negative results. In light of these observations, the question of lunar influence should be investigated further, with longitudinal observations and case-by-case analyses of individuals' data.

Keywords: depression; lunar; mania; menses; sleep; tidal.

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References

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