THE MOON'S INFLUENCE UPON HUMAN BEINGS

Shannon News, 16 August 1929, Page 4

THE MOON'S INFLUENCE UPON HUMAN BEINGS

IS HEALTH AFFECTED? Can the actions or health of human beings be affected by the moon? Th<i question is not a new one, for three thousand years before Galileo its harmful influence was suggested. Professor J. Arthur Thomson says the credulity 'is widespread, as shown" by the word "lunatic" and the expression "all moonshine" to describe an unfounded hypothesis, but he declares there is no foundation for the supposition that anyone can come to harm from walking or lying bareheaded in the moonlight, which is merely reflected and gentle sunlight. On the other hand, he admits "sunstroke," while suggesting that this trouble is often due, to unsuitable clothing, stuffy rooms, and so oh. >

Many people, however, insist that the moon has a marked effect on certain individuals, especially in hot countries. Writing to the "British Medi cal Journal," Dr. E. Gerald Stanley says that the colossal upheaval of th« water of the earth—the tides sug gests terrifying possibilities of the moon's effect on human actions.

From Bengal comes the story of a woman who always took care that the moon should not shine on her face, as she had once been "moonstruck." Her husband had awakened her because her face waß drawn on one side and continued so for some hours afterwards. Men in Ceritral Africa declare they have suffered from headaches as a result of moonshine, and some make a practice of wearing a pith helmet when going out at night. In the-Middle East exposure to the rays of the moon is 3aid to cause nightmare as well as headaches, and in the Far East a morning "thick head" is added to these symptoms. In Burma there is a belief that when the insane suffer from mental storms, these correspond to the phases of the moon.