“Moony”, “Lunatic” or “Lunacy” are English words that are used to denote “Madness” or “Eccentricity”.

The word “Lunacy” is derived from the Latin word “Lunatics”, which means “Moonstruck”.

All these words are related to the Moon.

The moon has held the human mind in its beauty for ages.

The moon had been in contact with the Earth for a long time. The Moon is a witness to all the phases of the Earth. It has seen all of the phenomena occurring on Earth and all of the acts carried out on this Earth.

The Moon is the Earth’s natural satellite. It has always fascinated our human minds. Throughout the ages, we have adored and even prayed the Moon.

Throughout the world, people have worshipped the Moon.

In India, the moon is an important deity. There are many stories related to the Moon that has started the belief, that the Moon, has the power to influence our lives.

The Moon influences our lives. It also participates in the natural mechanisms occurring on Earth.

The different shapes or phases of the Moon changes over the month. These phases of the Moon are called “Lunar phases”.

The Moon orbits the Earth and Earth orbits the Sun. All the heavenly bodies are moving!!!

The Mandala artform is created with the help of the things we see around us, like the Sun, the Moon , the stars…etc.

What Does A Mandala Mean To You?

During a “Lunar Eclipse”, the Earth comes between the Sun and the Moon.

As the Earth blocks, the sunlight which falls on the Moon and the shadow of the Earth falls on the Moon. This gives rise to the various phases of the Moon.

Did you know, that on a full moon night, the corals release eggs and gametes?

The rising and falling of the sea, which are known as Sea Tides, occur due to the gravitational attraction between the moon and the Earth.

We can see that the Moon affects the oceans and the seas, that is water.

Our body consists of 70 % water. Hence, the Moon affects our bodies too.

The Moon has an impact on various aspects of physical and mental health in our bodies.

The Moon and The Menstrual Cycles

The menstrual cycles are also known as “moon cycles”.

There is a form of synchronicity between the phases of the moon and the female reproductive system.

Some apps help to maximize the chances of becoming pregnant by looking into the phases of the Moon.

It is said that pregnant women are also likely to give birth on a Full Moon day/night.

On average, the menstrual cycle lasts for 28 days, which is about as long as a moon cycle.

The moon completes one revolution around the Earth in 27 days, 7 hours, and 43 minutes.

It takes 29.5 days for the Moon to complete its phase cycle.

The menstrual cycle and the ovulation phases correspond with: –

• The “Light” phase of the Moon, which is the leading to full Moon.

• The “Dark” phase of the Moon, is leading to the new Moon phase of the moon cycle.

The phases of the Moon, even influence the levels of Melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone that regulates the sleep-wake cycle in our body.

The Moon and The Sleep

The full moon has the power to disrupt sleep, making people more prone to insomnia.

A full Moon night can affect our sleep and can lower our sleep efficiency.

Some studies have shown that, on a Full Moon night, some people remained awake or in a state of light sleep.

The moonlight we see is the sunlight reflected off the Moon’s greyish-white surface.

The Moon influences your sleep, even if you have not ‘seen’ the moon and you are not aware of the actual moon phase.

The Moon and the Mental Health

It is believed that the Moon influences mood and psychiatric health.

In folklore, the full moon activates the transformation of the human into a wolf.

In movies and stories, it is depicted that, the criminals most likely commit crimes on a full moon night.

The writers of these crime series, related these incidences to the “Human Tidal Waves” caused by the gravitational pull of the Moon.

The notion that the lunar cycle of the Moon can influence people’s behaviour dates back thousands of years. But, it has been terminated by modern medicine. But new research done now, suggests that there can be some truth to these ancient theories.

Research has shown that the patient’s sleep patterns and mood were tracking with the rise and fall of the Earth’s oceans. This rise and fall of the ocean waves occur due to the gravitational pull of the Moon.

A renowned psychiatrist has described the behaviour and mood patterns of 17 patients with rapid-cycling bipolar disorder.

“Bipolar disorder” is a form of illness where people switch between mania and depression more quickly than usual.

He studied that the behavioural patterns of these 17 patients were uncannily precise in a way that one would not necessarily expect of a biological process.

These observations made the psychiatrist wonder if there was some kind of external influences that were operating on their behaviour and moods.

As the phases of the Moon passes across the night’s sky, it has shown extraordinary comparisons to patterns of mood swings in these patients.

He concluded that these behavioural patterns coincided with the monthly and annual cycles of the Moon.

The Moon and Human Behaviour

For eras, people have assumed that the Moon affects human behaviour.

Both Aristotle (the Greek philosopher) and Pliny the Elder (Roman naturalist) believed that “Madness” and “Epilepsy” were caused by the Moon.

Some proofs suggest that there is an increase in violence among psychiatric patients or prison inmates during the lunar cycle of the Moon.

One of the research studies, states that outdoor criminal activities, like incidents occurring on streets, or in natural settings like the beaches, maybe higher when there is more moonlight.

The Moon’s effect on our moods comes from the finding that every 206 days, these otherwise regular rhythms appear to be interrupted by another lunar cycle – the one responsible for creating “Supermoon”.

“Supermoon” is the full Moon, which is the closest that the Moon comes to the Earth in its elliptic orbit. Hence, the Moon looks slightly larger-than-usual apparent size, as viewed from the Earth.

It is believed that during the “Supermoon night”, the light of this full Moon might interrupt people’s sleep, which could influence their mood.

In the modern world, there is so much light pollution.

We spend a lot of time indoors exposed to artificial light.

Hence, we are unaware of the changing levels of the moonlight.

So, let’s get in touch with nature,

by observing the phases of the Moon each night

and don’t forget to develop an amazing bond

with the beautiful Moon.