A myth debunked: The full moon does not increase the incidence of psychological problems say researchers from Université Laval's School of Psychology inQuebec City. Contrary to popular belief -- and the origin of the word "lunatic" -- there is no connection between lunar phases and the incidence of psychological problems.
That's the conclusion reached by a team directed by Professor Geneviève Belleville after examining the relationship between the moon's phases and the number of patients who show up at hospital emergency rooms experiencing psychological problems. The study is published online in the journal General Hospital Psychiatry.
To determine whether the widespread belief linking the moon to mental health problems was true, researchers evaluated patients who visited emergency rooms at Montreal's Sacré-Coeur Hospital and Hôtel-Dieu de Lévis between March 2005 and April 2008. They focused specifically on 771 individuals who showed up at the emergency room with chest pains for which no medical cause could be determined. Psychological evaluations revealed that a sizeable number of these patients suffered from panic attacks, anxiety and mood disorders, or suicidal thoughts.
