Sleep, stress, joint pain: how does the moon affect our health?

Sleep, stress, joint pain: how does the moon affect our health?

The study of lunar cycles: a tool to improve one's well-being

If science has desecrated the magical effects of the moon, it has also demonstrated how it conditioned the tides, the reproductive cycle or the migration of certain animals. And for the man? The influence of the sun has not been scientifically proven, but many health professionals observe that the cycles of the moon have an effect on our body. This idea does not date from yesterday.

In China, traditional doctors treat according to the lunar calendar. In India, Ayurvedic medicine is also intimately related to the moon. In France, naturopaths give an important place to food and some are interested in biodynamic agriculture that takes into account lunar rhythms. " Relying on the cycles of the moon can not solve any serious health problem, recognizes Dr. Henry Pujet, a general practitioner who has been using advanced techniques and natural medicine for 30 years after investigating the subject. But I believe that it can improve well-being and heal some minor daily ailments. "

The moon would have an influence on hair growth

The base of the hair is irrigated by miniature blood vessels that nourish and oxygenate them. If the good health of the hair depends on multiple factors (genetic, hormonal, nutritional and psychological in particular), their growth would be also related to the lunar cycles, force of attraction obliges. The full moon would indeed promote the vasodilatation of micro-blood vessels. It would increase their caliber and their flow, boosting at the same time the supply of nutrients that the hair needs to grow (in this case, amino acids, vitamins and minerals).

The trick If you want your hair (or nails) to grow faster, cut them off the day of the full moon or the days before. If you wish, on the contrary, that they repel less quickly, cut them afterwards during the waning moon period.

The moon causes slight insomnia

Difficulty falling asleep, waking up at night, nightmares ... The full moon would disrupt sleep. In any case, it is a tenacious popular belief that could well be founded. In 1992, astrophysicists at the European Center for Nuclear Research (CERN) realized that the energy of the elementary particles of matter was changed when the lunar electromagnetic radiation was maximal., that is to say during a full moon. A revolution because it was thought until then that it was the prerogative of the only huge bodies, like the sea. More recently, Swiss researchers showed that the 4 days before or after the full moon, the total duration of sleep was shortened 20 minutes, the deep sleep time of 30 minutes, and above all, that the blood level of melatonin, the fundamental hormone for the regulation of sleep, decreased.

Our advice : When you have occasional sleep problems, look at your calendar. If it is the full moon period or if it is approaching, do not panic. Everything should quickly get back to normal.

Moon accentuates venous problems

Heavy legs, hemorrhoids, varicose veins, venous insufficiency, capillary fragility ... All these small venous pathologies are the sign of a poor circulation of blood that would be accentuated during the full moon. Several explanations are advanced, starting with the gravitational force of the moon. Not content to raise the waters of the oceans to give tides, it would also inflate the volume of blood in the veins. If this hypothesis has never been verified, American cardiologists have shown that the chances of survival of patients suffering from tearing of the wall of the aorta were significantly better when the interventions took place between the 15th and the 21st. day of the lunar cycle, at the moment, so the full moon and in the next few days.

Our advice : To prevent venous disorders, the restraint that today combines aesthetics and comfort, has proven its effectiveness. As well as antioxidant food (rich in vitamins C and E, carotenoids, selenium, zinc) and flavonoids contained in phlebotonic drugs (diosmin, rutin, ...).

Moon plays a role in urinary tract infections

Acute or even chronic infections of the bladder, cystitis are very common in women. One in ten suffers at least once in his life. The culprits are very often colibacillus Escherichia coli, naturally present in the body. These colibacilli proliferate more easily in alkaline urine. But a French pharmacist, Dr. Jeanne Rousseau, observed as early as the 1950s, that the alkalinity of urine increased during a full moon, without really being able to explain it. This would promote the development of Escherichia coli, and therefore urinary tract infections, especially if there is at this time, a decline in immune defenses.

The trick : To know the acidity rate of your urine, just make a urinary PH test using strips sold in pharmacies. In the case of PH too alkaline, acidify your urine by consuming for example foods rich in vitamin C (lemons, oranges, grapefruit, etc.).

The moon would act on fungal infections

Here, it would be the opposite phenomenon. Fungal infections, whether cutaneous or vaginal, are caused by the presence of microscopic fungi (usually Candida Albicans) that develop more readily in an acid medium. " But the bodily ground becomes more acidic during a new moon Dr. Henry Pujet remarks, which could explain the recrudescence of mycoses in a waning moon and a new moon, when the moon passes from a round shape (full moon) to crescent-shaped (last quarter).

Our advice If you are prone to fungal infections, think of probiotics. They prevent the installation of mushrooms. Their benefits have been demonstrated on the prevention of recurrence, but also on the reduction of symptoms.

The moon causes joint pain

It pulls in the neck, wrists, knees, shoulders, hips ... 40% of French people suffer from rheumatism. Whether it is cartilage wear (osteoarthritis) or joint inflammation (arthritis), these painful manifestations could be amplified by the waning moon. During this period, the blood circulation would slow down. As a result, the muscles, tendons and joints would be less oxygenated and the arthritic pain awakened. Arthritis outbreaks, during this same period, would be due to an excess of acidity of the synovial fluid, the natural lubricant of the joints, which would accentuate the inflammatory phenomenon.

Our advice: Auto massage joints, with a camphor-based balm, can temporarily relieve rheumatic pain. A medical consultation is required when these pains are very strong or they are chronic.

The moon wakes up temporary anxieties

If it does not affect our mental health, the moon may well have an impact on our level of anxiety, especially if we are naturally stressed. " It emits radiation whose effects are similar to those of a microwave oven, sums up Dr. Pujet. This radiation is particularly powerful during a full moon It would act not only in the nervous system, but also temporarily deregulate certain hormonal glands (pituitary, thyroid and adrenal) that promote the state of stress, so it may not be a coincidence that anxiety is less frequent (around 30%) during the last moon phase, as revealed by a Canadian study.

Our advice If you are anxious, it may be wise to take a natural anti-stress such as hawthorn or St. John's wort a few days before and after the full moon.

Menstrual cycles, deliveries: the impact of the moon remains to be proved

Let it be said: there are no more births on the nights of full moon, or peaks of miscarriages, caesareans or malformations in newborns. All this would be a myth and no study conducted during the last 40 years has been able to demonstrate it. Even the latest, conducted in the United States on 62 lunar cycles and more than half a million deliveries. No studies have yet proved that one would not play on women's menstrual cycles, yet practically identical to lunar cycles (28 vs. 29.5 days) ...

Sleep, stress, joint pain: how does the moon affect our health?