Horoscope: This is how the moon influences the cycle

Surprising study result
Does the moon affect the female cycle?

Moon mystery: An international team of researchers has conducted a study to show that women’s menstrual cycles could be linked to the lunar cycles.

The moon has a fascinating attraction for many people: some swear by its healing powers, others have the feeling that they cannot sleep when the moon is full. However, scientific evidence that the moon can influence us is largely lacking. At least until now: A team of researchers from Munich, Würzburg, Buenos Aires and the USA has presented a small study, according to the the Women’s menstrual cycles were largely synchronous with the lunar cycles in ancient times.

Modern life far from the moon

But over the centuries this synchronicity has changed: On the one hand, modern lifestyles have shifted women’s menstrual cycles, and on the other hand, the extensive use of artificial light plays a role. The University of Würzburg published the results of the study in the specialist journal Science Advances.

The study focused on 22 women who kept diaries about their menstrual cycles for up to 32 years. It is the first time that such an approach has been used to evaluate long-term data. The women’s information was compared with the three lunar cycles:

According to the study report, all three lunar cycles influence the onset of menstruation in women. The most important factor seemed to be the moonlight at night, but gravitational forces also had an effect. Also interesting: The cycle of women up to the age of 35 seems to be more synchronous with the lunar cycle than the cycle of older women. And a woman’s respective chronotype also plays a role: the so-called female “night owls”, i.e. people who go to bed late and are exposed to artificial light for a correspondingly long time, do not show any obvious synchronization with the lunar cycles.

Criticism of a few test subjects

The study results should also generally be viewed with caution – as the researchers themselves admit. Since only 22 women took part in the study, the data is only of limited significance. The team is now planning to collect more data using a mobile phone app.

Bridget