TY - JOUR
T1 - Are children like werewolves?
T2 - Full moon and its associations with sleep and activity behaviors in an international sample of children
AU - Chaput, Jean-Philippe
AU - Weippert, Madyson
AU - Leblanc, Allana G
AU - Hjorth, Mads Fiil
AU - Michaelsen, Kim F.
AU - Katzmarzyk, P T
AU - Tremblay, Mark S
AU - Barreira, Tiago V
AU - Broyles, Stephanie T
AU - Fogelholm, Mikael
AU - Hu, Gang
AU - Kuriyan, Rebecca
AU - Kurpad, Anura
AU - Lambert, Estelle V
AU - Maher, Carol
AU - Maia, Jose
AU - Matsudo, Victor
AU - Olds, Timothy
AU - Onywera, Vincent
AU - Sarmiento, Olga L
AU - Standage, Martyn
AU - Tudor-Locke, Catrine
AU - Sjödin, Anders Mikael
AU - Zhao, Pei
N1 - CURIS 2016 NEXS 102
PY - 2016/3/1
Y1 - 2016/3/1
N2 - In order to verify if the full moon is associated with sleep and activity behaviors, we used a 12-country study providing 33,710 24-h accelerometer recordings of sleep and activity. The present observational, cross-sectional study included 5812 children ages 9-11 years from study sites that represented all inhabited continents and wide ranges of human development (Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Finland, India, Kenya, Portugal, South Africa, United Kingdom, and United States). Three moon phases were used in this analysis: full moon (±4 days; reference), half moon (±5-9 days), and new moon (±10-14 days) from nearest full moon. Nocturnal sleep duration, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), light-intensity physical activity (LPA), and total sedentary time (SED) were monitored over seven consecutive days using a waist-worn accelerometer worn 24 h a day. Only sleep duration was found to significantly differ between moon phases (~5 min/night shorter during full moon compared to new moon). Differences in MVPA, LPA, and SED between moon phases were negligible and non-significant (< 2 min/day difference). There was no difference in the associations between study sites. In conclusion, sleep duration was 1% shorter at full moon compared to new moon, while activity behaviors were not significantly associated with the lunar cycle in this global sample of children. Whether this seemingly minimal difference is clinically meaningful is questionable.
AB - In order to verify if the full moon is associated with sleep and activity behaviors, we used a 12-country study providing 33,710 24-h accelerometer recordings of sleep and activity. The present observational, cross-sectional study included 5812 children ages 9-11 years from study sites that represented all inhabited continents and wide ranges of human development (Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Finland, India, Kenya, Portugal, South Africa, United Kingdom, and United States). Three moon phases were used in this analysis: full moon (±4 days; reference), half moon (±5-9 days), and new moon (±10-14 days) from nearest full moon. Nocturnal sleep duration, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), light-intensity physical activity (LPA), and total sedentary time (SED) were monitored over seven consecutive days using a waist-worn accelerometer worn 24 h a day. Only sleep duration was found to significantly differ between moon phases (~5 min/night shorter during full moon compared to new moon). Differences in MVPA, LPA, and SED between moon phases were negligible and non-significant (< 2 min/day difference). There was no difference in the associations between study sites. In conclusion, sleep duration was 1% shorter at full moon compared to new moon, while activity behaviors were not significantly associated with the lunar cycle in this global sample of children. Whether this seemingly minimal difference is clinically meaningful is questionable.
U2 - 10.3389/fped.2016.00024
DO - 10.3389/fped.2016.00024
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 27047907
SN - 2296-2360
VL - 4
JO - Frontiers in Pediatrics
JF - Frontiers in Pediatrics
M1 - 4
ER -