“What we expect is that when our ancestors have been searching and gathering, it was extremely adaptive to increase the tip of the day,” Dr. de la Iglesia says. The additional mild of an almost full moon at nightfall would grant them extra time to search out meals earlier than darkness fell—so, as Dr. de la Iglesia posits, why wouldn’t they evolve to remain up afterward these nights? Though we will not be as reliant on pure mild now, he notes that our our bodies should be primed, evolutionarily talking, to delay sleep earlier than a full moon.

That possible applies even in the event you can’t see the moon’s mild (whether or not it’s shrouded by clouds or mild air pollution or only a nice blackout curtain). One speculation is that our our bodies can sense the total moon’s higher gravitational pull, kinda just like the oceans—in spite of everything, we’re largely made up of water. However there are a pair limitations to that concept. For starters, “the tidal impact on people is estimated to be terribly small,” Brandon Peters, MD, a board-certified neurologist, sleep-medicine specialist, and creator of The Sleep Apnea Speculation, tells SELF. And the gravitational pull of the moon is about the identical throughout a full or new moon, so that you’d count on to see related results in each phases, Dr. Peters provides.

Maybe a extra possible rationalization entails different adjustments that occur alongside the shift in gravity of a full moon, Dr. de la Iglesia says, like variations within the Earth’s magnetic area, an brisk defend defending us from photo voltaic winds and different house climate. Although specialists don’t fairly understand how, analysis means that sure geomagnetic shifts may have an effect on your cardiovascular system and even alter your melatonin ranges, futzing along with your sleep.

It’s additionally potential that, over time, a bunch of organic and evolutionary ties to the moon have led us to develop a circalunar rhythm—much like a circadian rhythm, however oriented across the roughly month-long moon cycle, versus a single day. So similar to you get sleepy at evening and really feel extra awake because the morning progresses because of your inner 24-hour clock, specialists theorize that your physique may also turn out to be extra energetic at evening (or much less naturally susceptible to sleep) round a full moon as in comparison with different phases all through the month, Dr. Cajochen says.

What to do in the event you wrestle to sleep nicely round a full moon

The moon’s going to maintain moon-ing, however that doesn’t imply you’re doomed to stressed nights at any time when it’s approaching full standing. If you end up getting in mattress solely to toss and switch for some time on these days, Dr. Peters really suggests delaying your bedtime quickly by, say, 30 or 45 minutes (whereas maintaining your wakeup time constant). “By lowering your total time in mattress, you’ll construct a stronger sleep drive, which can allow you to go to sleep extra simply,” he says. Additionally, intention to get 15 to half-hour of daylight after waking up every day, he provides, to maintain your circadian rhythm bopping alongside as standard.