Clusterheadaches.com Message Board (http://www.clusterheadaches.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi)
Cluster Headache Help and Support >> Cluster Headache Specific >> Lunar Cycle
(Message started by: Saffy on Oct 24th, 2007, 2:53am)

Title: Lunar Cycle
Post by Saffy on Oct 24th, 2007, 2:53am
The lunar cycle affects so many things:

Tides
Menstrual Cycles
Moods
Animal Behaviour

I just wondered does it affect CH to anyones knowledge?

Saffy


Title: Re: Lunar Cycle
Post by AlienSpaceGuy on Oct 24th, 2007, 8:46am
Which lunar cycle do you mean? The
sidereal  (27.32 days),
synodic  (29.53 days),
draconitic  (27.21 days) or
anomalistic  (27.56 days) cycle?

The connection between tides and the moon is obvious and well studied. Some plants and animals are influenced by the tides.

Some animals synchronise their life to the moon light, while the common earthworm needs complete darkness to come to the surface for mating. Humans who live in a world flooded by artificial illumination are certainly not influenced by moon light (do you know the current moon phase?).

All other "correlations" between the moon and any other events are either pure folklore or "one-case-statistics" made up on the spot.

Imagine it was true the menstrual cycle was locked to (any of) the moon cycles. That would mean all women PMSing at the same time.    ::)

An old horticultural fairy tale says: stuff that grows outward should be planted during ascending moon, while the right time for something growing downward is the descending moon. Now, since most people I can't do anything with ascending and descending moon they substitute the better known waxing and waning moon. Duh!

Ueli                  [smiley=smokin.gif]




Title: Re: Lunar Cycle
Post by DennisM1045 on Oct 24th, 2007, 12:20pm

on 10/24/07 at 08:46:46, AlienSpaceGuy wrote:
Imagine it was true the menstrual cycle was locked to (any of) the moon cycles. That would mean all women PMSing at the same time.    ::)

Oh, the horror  :o

-Dennis-

Title: Re: Lunar Cycle
Post by Saffy on Oct 24th, 2007, 12:46pm
As far as "moods" to use the term rather loosely are concerned I was informed recently during a conversation with a close friend, who is a retired consulatant psychiatrist that at certain moon phases, I think just before full moon, or immediately after there are more acute admissions.
A member of the police force in on the converation agreed that they get a rise in aggression type troubles at the same times.

Saffy

Title: Re: Lunar Cycle
Post by Saffy on Oct 24th, 2007, 2:16pm
P.S. AlienSpaceGuy Yes I do know the current Moon phase.

However that is partly because it is at the top of the page on my diary Duh! Also partly because coming from farming stock it has been discussed during my upbringing in rural Wales and as we have no light pollution I see the phases of the moon if I look out of the window or go out to check the animals at night. I am lucky enough to live in a very beautiful, sparsely populated area.

I don't know a great deal about the magnetic forces etc of the moon and whether or not that can in any way affect our Hypothalmus, it just crossed my mind and realizing how knowledgable some members are thought I would pose the question.

Stephanie

Title: Re: Lunar Cycle
Post by Melissa on Oct 24th, 2007, 2:33pm

on 10/24/07 at 12:20:59, DennisM1045 wrote:
Oh, the horror  :o

-Dennis-

Oh Dennis, don't be such a wuss! ;)

Title: Re: Lunar Cycle
Post by Kevin_M on Oct 24th, 2007, 3:27pm

on 10/24/07 at 02:53:59, Saffy wrote:
The lunar cycle affects so many things:

Tides
Menstrual Cycles
Moods
Animal Behaviour

I just wondered does it affect CH to anyones knowledge?


Just trying to reflect some light and lessen any gravity when I say, no to a moon's influence.


The moon only has two noticeable affects, gravity and reflected light, and it is the half moon that reflects sunlight that optimally illuminates lunar surface details.
 As for gravity, the moon's synchonous rotation keeping the same face toward us is no mystery either, the Earth's strong tidal pull has locked the moon's nearest surface to us, which is common in satellite systems of other planets, too.  

Tides --  A new moon or dark moon affects tides too.  The oceans being interconnected and fluid, respond to the moon's differential pull with a daily rise and fall averaging globally about three feet with many variations.
 People on the other hand average five to six feet in length.  You'd have to grow possibly thousands of miles tall to before any tides would resonate within you.  As far as the moon is concerned, we are sizeless points.
 With the moon overhead, your bodily fluids have no inclination to migrate from customary positions, any more than a cup of tea would could climb the sides.  Gravity has to do with distance and the Earth is right below us.  
 And the moon is not particularly interested in fluids anyway, the Earth also responds to it's tidal-effect with a daily eight-inch deformity, it could be possible a small tremor could be roused if the conditions underlying are already present during the while the moon is closest in it's elliptical orbit, which maybe a dog or cat may only feel.  An earthquake on the edge of occuring could commence also.  Air also has a slight atmospheric tide.

Cycles -- Per Ueli's mention, it has never marched in step with the majority of women.  Only the opossum has a similar cycle, if the moon really exerts an influence in this regard it would be a dubious honor that has been withheld from the entire rest of the animal kingdom.  
 Biology 101 doesn't link human reproduction to a lunar rhythm.  A mention is made of insurance company records confirming births evenly dispersed throughout a lunar cycle, there is a link with season, no link to the moon.
 If a lot of deliveries might happen and it is a full moon, a link will become strengthened.  If the number of births at a full moon are normal or subnormal, no one usually thinks about it, nothing exceptional to attract attention to the issue, no connection is made or noted.

Moods -- The moon is present when it is new and dark but a unnoticed dark moon isn't associated with moods, so it cannot be the moon itself.  It's reflected light had been the only nocturnal light people could identify with for as long as we've evolved.  I can imagine it to be exciting to see a full moon on an otherwise pitch-black night, but cannot cause anything like lunacy, just perhaps a less subdued by darkness feeling.
 In fact, sunshine is linked more with moods, again being a factor of light, gloomy or sunny, these are even used to describe moods, as opposed to moonstruck.  If admissions to mental hospitals are linked to the moon's cycles, please post a link for that.

Animal Behavior -- Also as ASG mentioned but with a different example, its undisputed that marine life behavior is affected, however, evolution for survival has a heavy hand in this; the moon's long synchronous, steady relationship of gravity effects with tides, and others with reflected light in the night, with which certain life has evolved.  



most all from "Secrets of the Night Sky"


Title: Re: Lunar Cycle
Post by Saffy on Oct 24th, 2007, 3:35pm
Oh Well I shall label it one of my slightly more bonkers thoughts in that case!!!

I had ruminated on it for a good nano second before posting as well....

Saffy  ;;D

Title: Re: Lunar Cycle
Post by Barry_T_Coles on Oct 24th, 2007, 8:22pm
Fascinating subject
I don’t want to hijack this thread BUT I just can’t help myself. ;;D

The diurnal effect of the moon to a lesser extent also creates vertical movement in water bodies on land i.e. lakes & ground water, over the last 15 years I have been involved in a study of one environmentally sensitive area here in the Pilbara.

By placing monitoring devices connected to continuous data recording equipment in the trunks of trees we are able to measure the times of the day that vegetation draws water while at the same time continuously recording the ground water level & the level of the water in the permanent pool adjacent to the vegetation & matching those observations to moon’s cycle we are able to see the effect of the moon on the water body, it’ not a great movement but is measurable & varies with the waxing & waning.

One fascinating observation we have made with this extensive study is to be able to get close to proving the thought that has been around for a long time that some species of Australian native flora moderates water intake to suit the current season; In the height of summer some species wont take up water during the day but instead go into a partial hibernation during the day and thereby save energy and not take up water until the cool of the night (Who says a tree can’t think).

Regards
Barry


Title: Re: Lunar Cycle
Post by George_J on Oct 24th, 2007, 8:38pm
(Looks around nervously.)

When I first got here, I asked pretty much the same question--because the onset of my last three cycles corresponded to the onset of the full moon.

Got a lot of rather specific thoughts about my diagnosis, including:

http://www.public.iastate.edu/~davshan/wolf/werewolf3.jpg

Mind you, I'm not asking......

Coincidence.  

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.   ;)

Best wishes,

George

Title: Re: Lunar Cycle
Post by Barry_T_Coles on Oct 24th, 2007, 8:45pm
My what big teeth you have Mr Wolf ;;D

Title: Re: Lunar Cycle
Post by Saffy on Oct 25th, 2007, 3:12pm
Well George thats the best laugh I've had in while!  A good laugh always helps. [smiley=laugh.gif]


Saffy



Clusterheadaches.com Message Board » Powered by YaBB 1 Gold - SP 1.3.1!
YaBB © 2000-2003. All Rights Reserved.