BLAME THE MOON FOR YOUR PROBLEMS

An article in UK’s Independent rounded up over 50 research papers which studied the effect of the moon on human behaviour and concluded that, for reasons entirely inexplicable, the phases of the moon do indeed wield an influence over us. Among the findings are these stats: visits to doctors go up by 3.6% during a full moon; gout and asthma attacks peak during new and full moons; the birthrate climbs every 29.53 days (the length of the lunar cycle) with human fertility peaking in the week before a full moon; aggravated assaults and other crime rates rise around the period of a full moon; car accidents are lowest on a full-moon day but rise during the waxing and waning periods; and people eat an average of eight per cent more food during a full moon as compared to a new moon, but drink 26% less alcohol. Researchers also found links between moon cycles and heart and bladder problems, spontaneous abortions and thyroid disease.