Does the moons phase change the way we act ?

Originally posted by Lucid Lunacy

Originally posted by FredT
Scientific proof or not, In the health care field full moons are the WORST nights. Not sure why though

I was going to mention this. My mother is a doctor and she has always said the same thing and she has worked at many hospitals and clinics.

Apparently, a lot of surgeons won't do operations on a full moon because patients bleed a lot more. I also know a lot of cops have sick days when working nightshift on a full moon because they know it's going to be a "busy" night.

I have had long, extensive experience of working in the field of mental health nursing and have never noted any correlation between a given phase of the moon and behaviour.

Not that there isn't one, but it must be very small.

If the OP is suggesting that gravity might be a factor, then surely the sun has a greater influence?

Originally posted by NuclearPaul
Apparently, a lot of surgeons won't do operations on a full moon because patients bleed a lot more. I also know a lot of cops have sick days when working nightshift on a full moon because they know it's going to be a "busy" night.

Every time the Moon is in the sky, the WHOLE moon is in the sky, no matter what the phase (no matter how huch of the lit part we can see). A 1/4 Moon has the same gravitational pull as a full moon.

A new Moon may be invisible to the eye, but it is still all there in the sky, just as it would be if we could see the entire lit part (i.e., when it is a full moon).

I could understand there being a psychological effect, but I doubt any real physiological effect.

Originally posted by Soylent Green Is People
Every time the Moon is in the sky, the WHOLE moon is in the sky, no matter what the phase (no matter how huch of the lit part we can see). A 1/4 Moon has the same gravitational pull as a full moon.

We get spring tides during the full and new moons, due to the Sun reinforcing the Moon's gravitational force. Wiki

When this coincides with the Moon's perigee (closest distance to Earth), the tidal effect is even stronger.

Originally posted by wildespace

Originally posted by Soylent Green Is People
Every time the Moon is in the sky, the WHOLE moon is in the sky, no matter what the phase (no matter how huch of the lit part we can see). A 1/4 Moon has the same gravitational pull as a full moon.

We get spring tides during the full and new moons, due to the Sun reinforcing the Moon's gravitational force. Wiki

When this coincides with the Moon's perigee (closest distance to Earth), the tidal effect is even stronger.

But I bet a waning or waxing gibbous that is a day or two from "full" combined with the Sun gives quite a similar gravitational effect, but an "almost" full Moon doesn't seem to make people take notice.