04/10/2026
In the historical moment that has got people talking across the globe, NASA’s Artemis II mission has recently captured these breathtaking new photographs of the dark side of the moon—the enigmatic face we never see from Earth—now witnessed for the first time by human eyes in vivid, high-resolution detail as the crew orbited behind it.
This got me thinking about the moon’s quiet but very real influence over our own health and daily rhythm — from subtly shaping our sleep cycles, where many of us tend to go to bed a little later and catch 20 to 40 minutes less shut-eye around the full moon, with lower melatonin levels and less of that deep, restorative slow-wave sleep, even when researchers control for extra light.
Women’s menstrual cycles often sync right around that same 28-to-29-day lunar rhythm, and in some women (especially younger ones or those living with less artificial light), periods can sync up more closely with the full or new moon phases, echoing those old stories about our bodies staying in tune with nature’s clock.
Then there are the mood patterns, where in certain more sensitive people can line up with lunar phases. And on the more intriguing, lesser-researched side, some scientists are exploring how the moon’s gentle gravitational pull at certain times might act like a subtle cue for our bodies—possibly nudging fluid balance, other hormone flows for both men and women , or even an internal circalunar clock we’ve carried from our ancient past, much like other living things that time everything from reproduction to behavior by the moon’s phases.
At the heart of it all, moments like this remind us that we are intimately connected to the cosmos, to creation itself, in truly ineffable ways—our biology woven seamlessly into the grand symphony of the universe, inviting us to tune in, honor these ties, and support our wellness through that deeper sense of wonder every single day.
