SPOKANE, Wash. -- Full moons have been associated with strange or insane behavior for centuries.
Tuesday night into Wednesday morning there will be a super blue blood moon and a lunar eclipse.
You may be thinking or even worried this could have people acting a little different. Lunatic does come from the Latin word luna, or moon.
KREM 2 checked several scientific medical journals, including General Hospital and Current Biology. Contrary to belief and despite patterns we all, including health-care professionals, may witness, there is no connection between lunar or moon phases and psychological problems. In fact, these unfounded beliefs are more likely linked to self-fulfilling prophecies.
While there is some published evidence linking moon phases and sleep, the effect is small. According to Doctor Hans Van Dongen, Professor and Director of the Sleep Performance Research Center at The Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine at WSU, the effect of a full moon could be overwhelmed by other effects on people's sleep including if you went to bed early enough to meet your brain's sleep needs or whether you had a stressful day that keeps you worrying at night.
Researchers also argue the brightness of a full moon is minimal in modern society. We are more likely to lay wide awake because our phones and computers are next to our bed.
No matter what you hear, even though a super moon's extra pull of gravity creates higher than usual tides, it will not be strong enough to have any relevant effect on the body's water content. Humans are not as big as the planet, so we tend to not notice these effects. In fact, some researchers also claim the gravitational pull of a full moon is actually similar to a new moon that you cannot see.
According to a peer reviewed Obstetrics and Gynecology journal, the moon's effect on a women's menstrual cycle is still debatable. The phenomenon of this trifecta moon could be a special occasion that is well worth getting out of bed in the middle of the night and risking a small amount of sleep deprivation.