Lunacy? Women are more fertile during a new moon and most likely to conceive during the darkest nights, say scientists
- Women may be at their most sexually aroused during a full moon
- Study says this is when women are at their most fertile and friskiest
- Experts analysed data women use to track their monthly cycle
Women's periods are in sync with the phases of the moon, a study has found.
All around the world, cycles are most likely to start around the time of the full moon when night skies are brightest.
On the flipside, a woman will be most fertile with the new moon - when it is barely visible.
Woman may be at their most sexually aroused during a full moon, a study has claimed
While this may sound like lunacy, doctors say there are potential scientific explanations for the phenomenon.
Light affects production of a hormone involved in regulating a woman’s monthly cycle.
Plus, there are evolutionary advantages to a woman being most likely to conceive when the nights are at their darkest.
Infertility specialist Philip Chenette analysed anonymous data mobile phone app that women use to track their monthly cycle.
By
crunching together figures for more than 8,000 women from all around
the world, he found a clear link between the timing of their monthly
cycles and the phases of the moon.
Specifically, most women’s periods started in the fortnight that ranged from 11 days before the full moon to two days after it.
And,
in almost a fifth of cases, they began on the day of the full moon
itself or the two days before or after it, the American Society for
Reproductive Medicine’s annual conference in Honolulu heard.
Philip Chenette from the Pacific Fertility Centre in San Francisco (pictured) conducted the study
Dr
Chenette said his curiosity was piqued by the fact that almost every
woman’s menstrual cycle lasts four weeks – roughly the time between two
full moons.
He said: ‘It’s really curious that women’s menstrual cycles are every 28 days.
‘I mean, why is that? There’s absolutely no medical reason why that has to be.
‘It
turns out that probably just goes back to evolution and the fact we
used to live outdoors and we were exposed to lunar cycles for thousands
and thousands of years.
‘And
that related to harvest and times of plenty and all these kinds of
things and reproduction, of course, has to be timed to natural rhythms.
It’s just a fascinating phenomenon.’
Dr
Chenette, of the Pacific Fertility Centre in San Francisco, said that
the explanation may lie in the light of the moon regulating production
of the hormone melatonin, which in turn, regulates a woman’s menstrual
cycle.
Professor
Charles Kingsland, of the Hewitt Fertility Centre at Liverpool Women’s
Hospital, said the explanation may lie in the cover of darkness.
If a woman’s period starts with the full moon, she will be at her most fertile a fortnight earlier, when the sky is darkest.
The lack of light would have shielded amorous caveman couples from hungry predators.
Dr Chenette added that the moon may have other effects on the body and brain.
He said: ‘There are people in emergency rooms, doctors and nurses, who always worry about nights when there is a full moon.’
But
others were more sceptical. Simon Wood, a consultant gynaecologist at
the Countess of Chester Hospital, said other studies have found no link
between ovulation and the moon.
Professor
Sheena Lewis, of Queen’s University Belfast, said: ‘The only
relationship between period and the full moon is that they both occur
once every four weeks.’
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