Moon does not cause madness

24 November Daily Telegraph

A full moon does not drive people to madness, a study into the myth has revealed. Sudden crime waves, injuries and other random acts have been blamed on the monthly phenomenon, sometimes by doctors, nurses and the police.

But research by a group of psychologists in Canada has finally debunked the myth, proving that the lunar cycle has no influence on these freak occurrences. More than 770 hospital patients were studied in the three-year project with those suffering from psychological problems being closely analysed. Patients suffered problems ranging from panic attacks to suicidal behaviour and often claimed to have mystery chest pains.No evidence of a lunar link was discovered.

"This may be coincidental or due to factors we did not take into account,” Professor Genevieve Belleville, a psychologist for Canada's Universite Laval told the journal General Hospital Psychiatry. "But one thing is certain we observed no full moon or new moon effect on psychological problems. "The analyses revealed no link between the incidence of psychological problems and the four lunar phases.

"The pains were instead attributed to the mental health of the patients and timing found to have no specific pattern with one exception.

Anxiety attacks were 32 per cent less frequent during the last quarter of a lunar cycle than at other times.The full moon causing odd behaviour is a myth that has been believed for centuries.

Around 80 per cent of nurses and 63 per cent of doctors in the hospitals had been convinced they were seeing more patients for mental problems during a full moon than any other time.

Police forces from Brighton to Ohio have also beefed up their night time presence during the full moon after blaming it for rises in crime, according to reports.