To find it sad that our menstrual cycles are losing touch with the moon?

[Beachtastic]

OK, bit of a weird one, but this article published last month in Science Advances ("Synchronization of women’s menstruation with the Moon has decreased but remains detectable when gravitational pull is strong"), concludes that the increase of light pollution, and exposure to artificial light at night, has weakened the connection of our menstrual cycle with lunar cycles. It ends with "Because menstrual cycle length appears to be an age-dependent marker of female fertility, our findings may prove to be relevant not only to human physiology and behavior but also to fertility and contraception."

This makes me feel sad, a bit like finding out that turtle reproduction is messed up by artificial light because the hatchlings navigate to the water using the natural reflection of the moon and stars on the ocean’s surface. Instead of heading for the sea, they head for the local bar!

The effect on human reproduction is obviously less catastrophic, but still worth noting. The abstract says:
To increase reproductive success, many species synchronize reproductive behavior with a particular phase of the lunar cycle. The human menstrual cycle has also a period close to that of the lunar cycle, and recent studies suggest a temporary synchrony between menstrual and lunar cycles. Nevertheless, lunar influence on human reproductive behavior remains controversial. Here, we analyzed long-term menstrual records of individual women from the past 24 years and compared them with records from the past century. We show that women’s menstrual cycles recorded before the introduction of light-emitting diodes in 2010 and the extensive use of smart phones significantly synchronized with the Moon, while those after 2010 coupled to the Moon mostly in January. We hypothesize that the high gravimetric forces between the Moon, Sun, and Earth every January are sufficient for this coupling, while the increasing exposure to artificial light at night impinges on synchrony at other times.

Free PDF download from the link below, for anyone who understands science better than I do!

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adw4096

Well I’m off to button moon 😳

😆

See, I don't really think of it as woo...

I started reading that but stopped when they claim to be linking mentral cycles to the lunar PHASE (29.5 days), not the lunar ORBIT (27days)

It's the lunar ORBIT, ie the position of the moon relative to the earth which effects the tides. It's nothing to do with the lunar PHASE (full moon, waxing waning etc) which is just how much the area of the moon nearest to us is illuminated by the sun. It's psudoscience. Just because someone has done a study on something doesnt mean it's GOOD science.

Also the lunar ORBIT effects us all the time not just when the moon is above us, it is always pulling at all the oceans all the time and therefore us as well. I'm not sure how you think the moon pulling at us in a different direction at different times (even assume we all stayed still ourselves all day) would make any difference.

@FenceBooksCycle and @Cerialkiller OK, I see what you mean, and will grudgingly accept science... but still rather prefer the romantic view of how it all works 🤡

If that ain't all woo, then what is.
I didn't find the emoji for a Pentangle
Not that they were a fraction as good as Steeleye.
Off topic

Yeah I've just read trough the whole thing and it's not saying what you think it is.

The conclusion clearly states there is a small peak in memstral cycles starting on Thursday and Fridays. This has nothing to do with the moon and any lunar cycles which don't fall into and regular weekly cycle. The moon isn't even mentioned in the conclusion.

The findings are far more easily explained by weekly work cycles and eg work stress delaying the start until later in the week.

It's not really your fault op. There was (and apparently still is!) a lot of very questionable science on this stuff which ended up in the public consciousness. I'm sure I've heard the cycles syncing thing in popular media dozens of times. If you believe something, you will see it more often (like ghosts).

Far too many humans on this little planet now.

Yanbu its all i ever think about

There are lots of things about the world I feel sad about. This is not one of them.

I havr always thought thr moon thing is a load of hogwash. I have only ever known one woman in my entire.pife with a reliable 28 day cycle. 28 is the average, not the norm.

So no, dont gove a flying fig about this

I absolutely HATE it when the truth gets in the way of a good story! How dare you mess up my thread with your facts!!!!! 👻

Sorry!

We really are made of stardust though!!!

@Cerialkiller the phases of the moon do affect the tides - as would be expected since the phases of the moon are reflective of the relative positions of the sun and the moon, and thus gravitational pull:

https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/tutorial_tides/tides06_variations.html

"When the sun, moon, and Earth are in alignment (at the time of the new or full moon), the solar tide has an additive effect on the lunar tide, creating extra-high high tides, and very low, low tides—both commonly called spring tides. One week later, when the sun and moon are at right angles to each other, the solar tide partially cancels out the lunar tide and produces moderate tides known as neap tides. During each lunar month, two sets of spring tides and two sets of neap tides occur (Sumich, J.L., 1996)."

It's not the phase of the moon that effects the tides. It's the moon's position in orbit that affects both the tides AND the moons phases. Although I appreciate the nuance and correction. Perhaps I'm just being pedantic!!

Well, you might be... I think I am made of cake. 🍰

I'll just fetch my coat. And have made a mental note to refrain from starting any threads about the things I actually DO think are "woo"!!!!!!!!

The cake is made of star dust

As a fellow pedant, I see what you are getting at - however, the position of the sun also affects the tides, and that is where the phases comes in, since the phases of the moon indicate where the sun and moon are in relation to eachother. So not strictly speaking the moon, but the sun? Not the tide times, but the tide heights?

I definitely keep an eye on the moon phase when planning walks etc, to know if the places I want to go will be accessible via the shore.

I find it sad that some people don't think they are affected by the moon or nature and don't feel any connection, or notice feelings and instincts. Of course we are, and there's nothing "woo" about it.

If menstrual cycles were affected by the moon in any significant way, every woman in the world would get their period at the same time, but this isn’t the case, and has never been the case.

I know people really like to imagine that our periods are a sacred Earth Mother thing and that we’re uniquely connected to the Moon and all that - but nope. They’re just a bog standard bodily function and no more about our connection to the universe than sneezing, sleeping or shitting.

We’re emotionally affected, sure. Most people feel, and appreciate, an emotional connection to the natural world around them. I certainly do, very strongly.

The point is simply that those emotions are not what makes blood come out of your vagina every month.

Love that ⭐

Here OP, this will give you something to think on - humans are the universe made self-aware 👁

Ohhhhh, I know all that. I did my share of psychedelics 😶‍🌫️

It's true though. It blows my mind! We are the universe being self-aware.