E40FDNYL35
11-01-2002, 03:43 PM
Lunacy and the Full Moon
By Hannah Holmes
Do people go crazy on the full moon?
It's an enduring bit of folk wisdom, spurred by modern-day rumors that emergency rooms fill up, oddballs act odder, and dogs howl in the streets when the moon beams. Furthermore, there are lots of perfectly rational people who will assure you they just feel a little restless around the time of the full moon. The very word "lunatic" is built on the Latin word for moon, luna. So, is there proof?
If nothing else, there's proof that scientists take the question with a surprising seriousness.
Biologists, psychologists, even a dentist, have taken a crack at correlating full moons with foolishness. The results have been mixed, and mysterious:
A 1983 study of calls to a poison center found that unintentional poisoning increases at the full moon; and that suicide attempts and drug abuse increase with the new moon. A 1980 study, though, couldn't link drug overdose to any lunar phase.
A 1991 study found that women in a treatment center who were developmentally delayed misbehaved more often on the full moon. But a 1994 study found no full-moon correlation with admissions to a psychiatric hospital, and a 1997 study said doctors see no increase of depressed and anxious patients.
A study of a suburban hospital's emergency room concluded the full moon brought no howling hoards.
A study of workplace absenteeism actually found more people at work on the full moon.
Another inquiry revealed that people ate 8 percent bigger meals and drank 26 percent less alcohol on full-moon days than on new-moon days.
By Hannah Holmes
Do people go crazy on the full moon?
It's an enduring bit of folk wisdom, spurred by modern-day rumors that emergency rooms fill up, oddballs act odder, and dogs howl in the streets when the moon beams. Furthermore, there are lots of perfectly rational people who will assure you they just feel a little restless around the time of the full moon. The very word "lunatic" is built on the Latin word for moon, luna. So, is there proof?
If nothing else, there's proof that scientists take the question with a surprising seriousness.
Biologists, psychologists, even a dentist, have taken a crack at correlating full moons with foolishness. The results have been mixed, and mysterious:
A 1983 study of calls to a poison center found that unintentional poisoning increases at the full moon; and that suicide attempts and drug abuse increase with the new moon. A 1980 study, though, couldn't link drug overdose to any lunar phase.
A 1991 study found that women in a treatment center who were developmentally delayed misbehaved more often on the full moon. But a 1994 study found no full-moon correlation with admissions to a psychiatric hospital, and a 1997 study said doctors see no increase of depressed and anxious patients.
A study of a suburban hospital's emergency room concluded the full moon brought no howling hoards.
A study of workplace absenteeism actually found more people at work on the full moon.
Another inquiry revealed that people ate 8 percent bigger meals and drank 26 percent less alcohol on full-moon days than on new-moon days.