Monday, August 5, 2013

Moon Versus Sleep

The Economist: http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2013/08/economist-explains-0

"The moon controls us!!". This is the common message in the article. Don't get too excited you science fiction lovers, the moon controls us partially. The moon controls how we sleep (and yes in one way the moon controls our minds).

Scientists have proved how on full moons, people sleep less; they take more time to go to sleep and their sleep level lowers. It has also been shown that those volunteers suffered from a loss of Melatonin, which is a sleep related hormone. It is believed that in prehistoric times, humans would use moonlight in order to defend against predators.

Our prehistoric ancestors gave us the trait to be restless on the night of a full moon. I can see how the moon comes in play in this situation. Similarly to the Pancreas and Tonsil, humans still contain identical body parts and minds of those thousands of years ago. Under the same moon, we both are controlled by the same instincts and the same body parts.

This theory does not have an answer yet. Scientists are still studying why humans are so connected to the face of the moon. I have to agree that human sleep pattern's connecting to a full moon may have been derived from ancestral instincts; there are many examples that substantiates this theory. Many species of animals use the moon as an indicator of time. However, these same species' internal clock would be disruptive if their usual setting were disruptive. If a crab that glows only at night is put in a box with no light that crab will start to glow, despite being it day. Some may say this action derives from a natural instinct to survive however; the crab glowing does not make it inconspicuous and does not increase the crab's survival chances.

1 comment:

  1. I thought you chose a very unique, interesting topic! :) A fact that the moon controls people's sleep was unheard of. Although not confirmed how it works yet, the connection humans have with nature is interesting and enigmatic. However, I considered deep analysis on such scientific topics would be difficult. Consequently, amount of your opinion included was comparatively equivalent to the amount of the summary. Choose topics that you can provide deeper analysis to! Good commentary overall!

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