Baby’s Sleep and the Moon
Posted by Nicole on June 9th, 2009
Awhile ago, Shauna commented on one of my posts about the moon affecting her baby’s sleep and I thought that would make for an interesting article to research. This past Sunday, June 7, 2009, was a full moon and lo and behold both my sons woke up at night. Did I ever tell you how one kid waking up is bad, but both, especially at different times, is downright brutal!? (bowing down to those of you with multiples right now!)
My youngest around 12:20 started crying and I went in, cuddled him for a couple of minutes and put him back down with his crib music on and left. No more peeps out of him. Around 3 something, my preschooler came running into my room saying he had a bad dream someone was chasing him (Reminder: I will be doing a series on nightmares and night terrors this summer). After I gave him a few minutes and took him back to bed, he called out for me later to turn his fan on. Interestingly enough, I had also turned on my youngest’s ceiling fan a few hours earlier, too. I thought they were both hot (I was too), however, I remembered I wanted to do an article about the moon’s effect on our sleep, if there was any, so I looked it up and what do you know? It was a full moon that night.
So, does the moon affect our baby’s sleep?
Mostly what I found was that the moon affecting human behavior and sleep, in general, is not proven and generally accepted as untrue among scientists. In theory, it sounds like it could be likely the moon affects us as it does have an effect on the oceans / tides and the human body is made up of 65% water. However, the amount of water in the oceans is so much greater than our “small” human bodies and the water in the ocean is considered “unbounded”, that it has been said that a mosquito on our arm would have more of an effect than the moon. It’s been said that the term “lunatic” comes from our history that at one time we did believe the moon was to blame for strange behavior, but this has remained unproven by numerous scientific studies. I might have to track my sons’ sleep for the next month and see what happens during the next full moon on July 7th. For now, I’ll stick to reading Goodnight Moon to my boys.
So, tell me, for my own informal research…
Did your baby wake up during the full moon?
Tags: baby sleep, moon and sleep, moon effect on sleep
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June 10th, 2009
YES! Our 8 month old woke up crying Sunday night from 10-11:30, and woke extra early as well, poor kiddo. There might be something to this full moon thing… !
June 10th, 2009
Clara woke up at 3 a.m. Sunday night as well. She slept without a peep since.
Weird.
June 10th, 2009
My almost-10 month old son has always slept horribly around the time of the full moon. Sunday night woke up and was largely inconsolable from about 1:30-3:30am, for no physical reason that I could determine. Then again on Monday, he fell asleep at his normal 7pm bedtime, but woke up at 8pm and was awake until 11pm, crying for most of that time. Last night he was a little fussy, I think largely due to being overtired, but nothing like the prior two nights. Hopefully tonight he will be back to normal and we can all get some sleep!
This has not been the first time something like this has happened – it has become such a pattern during the full moon that I have tried to do my own “research” (aka Google) about it – I am convinced there is something to this theory.
I think the moon has more effect on us than the scientists realize. Is it a coincidence that the typical woman’s menstrual cycle is 28 days – same length of time as the moon cycle?
June 10th, 2009
@Ellen, @Lainie, @Jackie Interesting! Maybe there is something that scientists just can’t prove. It’s just something we moms “know”.
June 11th, 2009
Just as a follow-up, my son slept 7pm-4:30am last night, now that the full moon is over.
(PS – does this comment count for the Father’s Day giveaway???)
June 14th, 2009
I agree with Nicole. My son (7 months today) woke up 5 times last Sunday night. My husband and I couldn’t figure out what was going on. He’s slept a lot better ever since.
June 15th, 2009
Oddly enough my 10 month old, Kendall, actually slept REALLY well on Sunday night. I didn’t realize that it was a full moon, but that was actually our second night at the beach and away from home, so I was completely shocked that she did so well. Unfortunately, she ended up getting sick and didn’t sleep well at all for the next several days.
When she was younger I remember thinking that the full moons must have had an affect on her, but looking back, I don’t know if that was really true, or if it was more likely just her changing behaviors.
June 21st, 2009
@Allyson Interesting! Thanks for sharing.
June 21st, 2009
@Lisa Also interesting. I’m sure we can find so many kids who slept well and some that didn’t, just like any other night.
Our whole week was a little off, actually, so I’m not sure if ours was the moon after all. I think we are getting back on track. It’s hard to know what’s the cause: moon, weather, heat, cold, etc. :p Thanks for commenting!
July 8th, 2009
Its strange finding this on the web. Its July 8th at 1:30 in the morning and our 18 month old daughter, who normally sleeps perfectly through the night, woke up crying. It took about 30 min to calm her down. I seem to recall that the same thing happened about a month ago. Looking up at the sky, its perfectly clear with a big round moon. Although it could been entirely coincidental, I’m going to track these dates…
July 12th, 2009
@Howard Thank you for commenting! I’d be curious to know what happens. Our boys slept through this full moon, but my eldest (surprise, surprise) had a rough night the night before.
August 6th, 2009
My 10-month old does not sleep the night before and the night of a full moon. A teacher at my daycare mentioned it to me about 4 months ago, and I’ve been tracking it ever since. My daughter began sleeping through the night at 2-months (7pm – 7am every night). The only nights where she won’t sleep well, even when she’s sick, are nights of full moons. Tonight is a full moon. Last night she would not go to sleep, and then woke up 4 or 5 times, and woke up early this morning. I do believe the full moon must have some effect on her sleep!
August 14th, 2009
@Cheryl Wow! Thank you so much for sharing your story! If that’s not proof, I don’t know what is. I wonder if some babies are more sensitive to the full moon than others and if so, why? Another topic for more research.
October 5th, 2009
Just as a follow-up – my son is now 13.5 months old. Every single full moon since this post was written, my son’s sleep has been an absolute trainwreck for the full moon, and for several nights leading up to the full moon.
October 15th, 2009
@Jackie Wow! That is really interesting. Thank you for coming back and sharing. Sleep has been inconsistent whether the moon effects our boys. Surprise. Surprise. My boys are SO inconsistent! LOL
November 1st, 2009
Hello Everyone,
I am not a parent yet, but since I was born (some 34 years ago) I have ALWAYS experienced bad sleep during full moon phase. As I got older it just gets worse (less sleep during that particular phase), and in the morning I would look drained.
I know that scientist did not or can not prove anything yet, but for me my body is proof enough that there is some connection between moon, my body and sleep.
I hope that this helps (at least from the “grown up” person’s experience with the same challenge) and have yourself “good night”.
November 4th, 2009
YES! My husband and I had the most horrific night with our 8 week old the other night. Same happened last month…will it ever end?!
November 14th, 2009
@Alex Very interesting! There definitely seems to be a connection for several people since I wrote this article. Thanks for sharing!
November 14th, 2009
@Sarah Apparently, according to Alex, it might not ever stop! :O
November 16th, 2009
I am 34 years old and have always slept badly around the full moon and sometimes the new moon.. Normally i sleep like a log! I noticed the pattern many years ago and have found that lots of people share this problem but dont connect it to the moon phase. I have researched on the internet and as you say, scientists dismiss it. But i am 100% sure there is a link and id love to know why. Good luck with your research, keep us posted!
December 3rd, 2009
I have a 16 week old son and he has not slept good for the past two nights, waking up way more frequently than normal. I have pin pointed it to the full moon I will keep tracki and see if this happens again I am really hoping its just a phase.
December 3rd, 2009
And again this month!
December 4th, 2009
@Mark Thank you for commenting and letting us know! I’ll let you know if I find anything out.
December 27th, 2009
@Christine Thank you for sharing your moon story. Keep us updated!
December 27th, 2009
@Sarah Wow! There has to be a link for you!
January 29th, 2010
I had never thought of a full moon affecting sleep until someone brought it to my attention today after I told them how horrible my 11month little boy slept last night. I found it so weird since he was not sick and has been sleeping perfectly all through the night now since a couple months back. Tonight is supposed to be the biggest and brightest full moon (January 29, 2010)..so we will see what happens. I am a little nervous. Thanks for all your posts, they help.
February 6th, 2010
That is very interesting. Apparently, the Moon effects human behaviour. Don’t know if it is true or just coincidence.
February 6th, 2010
Just to add that many members of the police reckon that crime levels go through the roof when there is a full Moon.
Joseph Condron´s last blog ..About The Moon: Vital In The Creation And Preservation Of Life On Earth
April 28th, 2010
My son is 21 months old. For the past year he wakes up 1 time a month crying for 1.5 – 5 hours sporadically. I will go into his room & make sure he is okay. Of course he is, other than he can’t sleep!
I started tracking it a few months ago. I figured out today that everytime he wakes up it has been a full moon… Very strange!!! I hope he gets over this, it’s pretty rotten for both of us to deal with it.
May 14th, 2010
My 19th month old daughter has been doing this every full and new moon since she was at least a year old if not younger. It was becoming so much of a habit every 2 weeks or so that we started tracking the behavior. Sure enough she has restless nights or is just unable to sleep every full and new moon! There is definately something with the new and full moon! I hope it changes soon….I am due with my second child in November!
May 25th, 2010
My 22 month old son almost always has restless nights during a full moon period (a couple days before until the day after) since he was born. We don’t do anything different in our routine, but sure enough he will wake up 3-4 times a night. Sometimes he will just be laying down with his eyes closed and crying. The rest of the month he sleeps 11-12 hours a night without a peep. Very Strange!
June 25th, 2010
thanks every one. It’s 1.30am. i’m sitting up with my 9 month old. She went to sleep for 1 hr, woke, slept for another hour (exactly), woke, and has been awake and wanting to feed or play since. Yes, its a full moon, and this happens every full moon. My son was, and still is, a little affected by the full moon but nothing like my daughter. It’s horrendous. The night before and after are bad too. Then she goes back to sleeping through the night. ‘Scientists’ once said the earth was flat, because that’s what the science they had available to them told them. The Earth was always round, it just took a while for the science to catch up. I think the same applies to sleep and the full moon. The science just hasn’t caught up yet to explain it, that doesn’t mean it’s not happening.
July 24th, 2010
So happy to find this – My daughter has pretty much sleep through the night or only woken up once since birth. The exceptions 1 week during the last 2 full moons.
The first I thought was due to the light in her room since her blinds hadn’t been put up.
This month I thought it was because she was teething but now I’m just not sure.