I saw a mood ring at Urban Outfitters the other day, and it reminded me of growing up and loving to wear those. I loved watching the colors change on my finger. I laughed at the outcome, and even as it wasn’t accurate, I still wanted to believe. What about the moon affecting your mood? Do you believe the moon has an effect on your behavior? We hear people say a lot—“Must be a full moon or something.” But is there truth in it?

In an article in BBC online this July by Linda Geddes, there seems to be a shift in people’s minds: “The idea that the lunar cycle can influence people’s behaviour dates back thousands of years, but has been largely dismissed by modern medicine…new research suggests there may be some truth to these ancient theories.”

In a study by psychologist, Thomas Wehr, studying bipolor patients, he was convinced there was something to it and even scientists couldn’t dispute the findings—that the mood swings of the bipolar patients corelated “with certain gravitation cycles of the Moon.” However, most attribute it to sleep, or lack thereof, which disrupts mood not the Moon itself or any mystical correlation. We need sleep. Without it, so much happens. Irritability. Weight gain. Health issues. Anxiety. Brain function. Concentration. And on and on and on. The science is firm there.

But the scientific naysayers still can’t deny that if sleep is interrupted by the moon, there is a connection. Is it a simple solution to get a thicker shade the night the moon may be strong? More curtains? Or is there something intrinsic really going on. Wehr thinks so. He states:
​“ ‘In the modern world, there’s so much light pollution and we spend so much time indoors exposed to artificial light, that the signal of the changing levels of moonlight has been obscured,’ he explains. Rather, he suspects that some other aspect of lunar influence is perturbing his patients’ sleep, with knock-on consequences for their mood – with the most likely candidate being the Moon’s gravitational pull.” So much cannot be understood and so many people want answers. The studies, the science, the psychology can’t seem to agree definitively. Are there really any answers to be had at all? What about those of us who aren’t bipolar? Why can no conclusive evidence be found for us?

I’m curious. And so, this month, I’ve tasked myself with keeping a journal, starting on the Full Moon phase of Friday, the 13th. Each day, I want to see if I notice anything. If I’m affected. If my mood swings or not. If I’m more sensitive or in tune or emotional…

Though it won’t be anything but anecdotal evidence, at least I know, I can write about it at night by the light of the moon.