Does the full moon make us sleepless? A neurologist explains the science behind sleep, mood and lunar myths

满月会让我们失眠吗？神经学家解析睡眠、情绪与月亮神话背后的科学

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.

本文最初发表在《对话》（The Conversation）上，经授权转载至太空网（Space.com）的《专家之声：专栏与见解》。

Have you ever tossed and turned under a full moon and wondered if its glow was keeping you awake? For generations, people have believed that the Moon has the power to stir up sleepless nights and strange behavior – even madness itself. The word “lunacy” comes directly from luna, Latin for Moon.

你是否曾在满月之夜辗转反侧，怀疑是月光让自己难以入眠？数代人以来，人们始终相信月亮拥有引发失眠、催生怪异行为的力量 —— 甚至能让人精神失常。“精神失常”（lunacy）一词直接源自拉丁语中的 “月亮”（luna）。

Police officers, hospital staff and emergency workers often swear that their nights get busier under a full moon. But does science back that up?

警察、医护人员和急救人员常常坚称，满月之夜他们的工作会变得更加繁忙。但科学是否支持这一说法？

The answer is, of course, more nuanced than folklore suggests. Research shows a full moon can modestly affect sleep, but its influence on mental health is much less certain.

答案当然比民间传说更为复杂。研究表明，满月确实会对睡眠产生轻微影响，但它对心理健康的影响就不那么确定了。

I’m a neurologist specializing in sleep medicine who studies how sleep affects brain health. I find it captivating that an ancient myth about moonlight and madness might trace back to something far more ordinary: our restless, moonlit sleep.

我是一名专门研究睡眠医学的神经学家，研究睡眠对大脑健康的影响。我觉得很吸引人的是，一个关于月光与精神失常的古老神话，其根源可能源于一件再普通不过的事 ，那就是我们在月光下躁动不安的睡眠状态。

Several studies show that people really do sleep differently in the days leading up to the full moon, when moonlight shines brightest in the evening sky. During this period, people sleep about 20 minutes less, take longer to fall asleep and spend less time in deep, restorative sleep. Large population studies confirm the pattern, finding that people across different cultures tend to go to bed later and sleep for shorter periods in the nights before a full moon.

多项研究显示，在满月来临前的几天里，此时夜空中的月光最为明亮，人们的睡眠状态确实会发生变化。这段时间内，人们的睡眠时间会减少约 20 分钟，入睡时间延长，深度恢复性睡眠的时长也会缩短。大规模人群研究证实了这一规律：不同文化背景的人在满月前的夜晚，往往会睡得更晚、睡眠时间更短。

The most likely reason is light. A bright moon in the evening can delay the body's internal clock, reduce melatonin – the hormone that signals bedtime – and keep the brain more alert.

最可能的原因是光线。夜晚明亮的月光会推迟人体的生物钟，减少褪黑素（一种提示身体该睡觉的激素）的分泌，并让大脑保持更高的警觉性。

The changes are modest. Most people lose only 15 to 30 minutes of sleep, but the effect is measurable. It is strongest in places without artificial light, such as rural areas or while camping. Some research also suggests that men and women may be affected differently. For instance, men seem to lose more sleep during the waxing phase, while women experience slightly less deep and restful sleep around the full moon.

这种变化是轻微的。大多数人只会少睡 15 到 30 分钟，但这种影响是可衡量的。在没有人造光源的地方，如农村地区或露营时，这种影响最为明显。部分研究还表明，男性和女性受到的影响可能有所不同。例如，男性在月亮渐圆阶段（盈月期）的睡眠损失似乎更多，而女性在满月前后的深度安睡时间略有减少。

For centuries, people have blamed the full moon for stirring up madness. Folklore suggested that its glow could spark mania in bipolar disorder, provoke seizures in people with epilepsy or trigger psychosis in those with schizophrenia. The theory was simple: lose sleep under a bright moon and vulnerable minds might unravel.

几个世纪以来，人们一直将精神失常归咎于满月。民间传说认为，月光会诱发双相情感障碍患者的躁狂症、引发癫痫患者的癫痫发作，或导致精神分裂症患者出现精神病症状。原理很简单：在明亮的月光下失眠，脆弱的心智可能会崩溃。

Modern science adds an important twist. Research is clear that sleep loss itself is a powerful driver of mental health problems. Even one rough night can heighten anxiety and drag down mood. Ongoing sleep disruption raises the risk of depression, suicidal thoughts and flare-ups of conditions like bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

现代科学给出了一个重要的新视角。研究明确表明，失眠本身就是导致心理健康问题的重要因素。即使只经历一个难以入睡的夜晚，也会加剧焦虑，让情绪低落。长期的睡眠紊乱会增加患抑郁症、自杀的风险，还可能诱发双相情感障碍、精神分裂症等疾病的急性发作。

That means even the modest sleep loss seen around a full moon could matter more for people who are already at risk. Someone with bipolar disorder, for example, may be far more sensitive to shortened or fragmented sleep than the average person.

这意味着，即使是满月前后轻微的睡眠损失，对那些本就处于风险中的人群来说，影响可能更为显著。例如，双相情感障碍患者对睡眠时间缩短或睡眠碎片化的敏感度，可能远高于普通人。

But here's the catch: When researchers step back and look at large groups of people, the evidence that lunar phases trigger psychiatric crises is weak. No reliable pattern has been found between the moon and hospital admissions, discharges or lengths of stay.

但关键问题在于：当研究人员对大规模人群进行整体分析时，月相引发精神疾病急性发作的证据并不充分。目前尚未发现月亮与入院率、出院率或住院时长之间存在可靠的关联规律。

But a few other studies suggest there may be small effects. In India, psychiatric hospitals recorded more use of restraints during full moons, based on data collected between 2016 and 2017. In China, researchers noted a slight rise in schizophrenia admissions around the full moon, using hospital records from 2012 to 2017. Still, these findings are not consistent worldwide and may reflect cultural factors or local hospital practices as much as biology.

不过，其他一些研究表明可能存在微弱影响。在印度，根据 2016 至 2017 年收集的数据，精神病院在满月期间使用约束措施的次数更多；在中国，研究人员通过 2012 至 2017 年的医院记录发现，满月前后精神分裂症患者的入院人数略有上升。尽管如此，这些发现在全球范围内并非一致存在，其背后可能受生物学因素，也受到文化差异或当地医院诊疗惯例的影响。

In the end, the moon may shave a little time off our sleep, and sleep loss can certainly influence mental health, especially for people who are more vulnerable. That includes those with conditions like depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or epilepsy, and teenagers who are especially sensitive to sleep disruption. But the idea that the full moon directly drives waves of psychiatric illness remains more myth than reality.

归根结底，月亮可能会略微减少我们的睡眠时间，而失眠确实会影响心理健康 ，尤其是对那些更脆弱的人群来说，包括抑郁症、双相情感障碍、精神分裂症、癫痫患者，以及对睡眠紊乱格外敏感的青少年。但认为满月会直接导致精神疾病大规模爆发的观点，仍然，更多的是神话而不是现实。

Over the years, scientists have explored other explanations for supposed lunar effects, from gravitational "tidal" pulls on the body to subtle geomagnetic changes and shifts in barometric pressure. Yet, none of these mechanisms hold up under scrutiny.

多年来，科学家们探索了月亮影响人类的其他可能解释，从对人体的引力 “潮汐” 作用，到微妙的地磁变化和气压波动。然而，这些机制在严格的科学检验下都经不起推敲。

The gravitational forces that move oceans are far too weak to affect human physiology, and studies of geomagnetic and atmospheric changes during lunar phases have yielded inconsistent or negligible results. This makes sleep disruption from nighttime light exposure the most plausible link between the Moon and human behavior.

驱动海洋潮汐的引力过于微弱，无法影响人体生理；而关于月相期间地磁和大气变化的研究，也只得出了不一致或可忽略不计的结果。这使得夜间光线照射导致的睡眠紊乱，成为月亮与人类行为之间最合理的关联。

If the science is so inconclusive, why do so many people believe in the "full moon effect"? Psychologists point to a concept called illusory correlation. We notice and remember the unusual nights that coincide with a full moon but forget the many nights when nothing happened.

如果科学如此没有定论，为什么还有那么多人相信 “满月效应”？心理学家指出，这与一种名为 “错觉相关” 的认知偏差有关：我们会注意并记住那些与满月同时发生的异常事件，却忘记了无数个平淡无奇的夜晚。

The moon is also highly visible. Unlike hidden sleep disruptors such as stress, caffeine or scrolling on a phone, the moon is right there in the sky, easy to blame.

此外，月亮的可见度极高。与压力、咖啡因、刷手机等隐藏的睡眠干扰因素不同，月亮高悬在天空中，很容易成为被指责的对象。

Even if the moon does not drive us "mad," its small influence on sleep highlights something important: Light at night matters.

即便月亮不会让我们 “精神失常”，它对睡眠的轻微影响也揭示了一个重要事实：夜间的光线非常影响睡眠。

Our bodies are designed to follow the natural cycle of light and dark. Extra light in the evening, whether from moonlight, streetlights or phone screens, can delay circadian rhythms, reduce melatonin and lead to lighter, more fragmented sleep.

人类的身体天生遵循着自然的昼夜节律。夜晚时分额外的光线 ，无论是月光、路灯还是手机屏幕发出的光，都会推迟生物钟节律，减少褪黑素分泌，导致更浅、更碎片化的睡眠。

This same biology helps explain the health risks of daylight saving time. When clocks "spring forward," evenings stay artificially brighter. That shift delays sleep and disrupts circadian timing on a much larger scale than the moon, contributing to increased accidents and cardiovascular risks, as well as reduced workplace safety.

这一生物学原理也有助于解释夏令时对健康的危害。当时钟 “拨快一小时”（夏令时开始），夜晚的光线会人为地变得更亮。这种变化对睡眠的推迟和昼夜节律的干扰程度远大于月亮，从而可能导致事故率上升、心血管疾病风险增加，同时降低工作场所的安全性。

In our modern world, artificial light has a much bigger impact on sleep than the moon ever will. That is why many sleep experts argue for permanent standard time, which better matches our biological rhythms.

在现代社会，人造光源对睡眠的影响远比月亮大得多。这也是许多睡眠专家主张采用永久标准时间的原因，它更符合人类的生物节律。

So if you find yourself restless on a full moon night, you may not be imagining things – the moon can tug at your sleep. But if sleeplessness happens often, look closer to home. It is likely a culprit of the light in your hand rather than the one in the sky.

因此，如果你发现自己在满月之夜难以入眠，这或许并非错觉 ，月亮确实可能影响你的睡眠。但如果失眠成为常态，不妨从身边找原因：问题可能出在你手中的光源而非天上的那轮明月。

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

本文经《对话》授权转载，依据知识共享许可协议发布。查看原文请点击此处。