Effect of the Moon
Busy emergency rooms at full moon
Refuted
A lasting belief that the data do not support.
The evidence
A 1985 meta-analysis of 37 studies found no reliable link between the Moon and behaviour. Re-analyses of studies that claimed one make it vanish. A 2024 preprint of 465 838 emergency visits found no full-moon rise.
Key studies
- Much ado about the full moon: A meta-analysis of lunar-lunacy research The classic answer to “lunacy”: no reliable link between the phases and behaviour.
- No Evidence of Purported Lunar Effect on Hospital Admission Rates or Birth Rates With proper statistics the effect disappears, as in the wider literature.
- Moonlit Misconceptions: A South Florida Veterans’ Hospital Perspective on Full Moon Emergency Room Visits No rise in visits or admissions at full moon; a preprint, not yet peer reviewed.