They say it ruins a good night’s sleep – cutting the time we are slumbering by 20 minutes and reducing deep sleep by nearly a third.
Many people claim a full moon makes them restless. It has been linked to higher crime rates owing to its gravitational pull, causing a rush of blood to the head.
Now scientists at the University of Basel in Switzerland have connected lunar cycles and sleep behaviour in a study of 30 people.
The findings, in the journal Current Biology, suggested that around a full moon, volunteers took five minutes longer to drop off, felt their sleep was poorer and dozed for 20 minutes less.
Their blood had less melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep and wake cycles.
The university’s Professor Christian Cajochen said: “This is the first reliable evidence that lunar rhythm can modulate sleep structure.”