This month has been an astrological phenomenon – from lunar eclipses to full moons, October is hitting us hard with shifting energies. The cosmos have conspired to make this Halloween extra spooky with a full moon and a lunar eclipse on Saturday, October 28th.
This particular full moon is often called a “Hunter’s Full Moon”, or a “Blood Moon” because of its ties to the autumnal equinox, and Native Americans would hunt for the winter during this moon because it was easy to see their prey. (https://www.almanac.com/content/full-moon-october)
Regardless of the moon’s name, and its spooky timing this October, we know moons affect people because of the gravitational pull. Like it affects the ocean’s tides, humans are also made of water, so it’s not uncommon for people to feel different, or experience mood changes during a full moon. One thing has us particularly curious; does a full moon influence people with dementia?
After scouring sources for an answer, we found that a good bit of research has been dedicated to this question, and we have found a few differing observations. While some scientists say that the behaviors of dementia patients remained the same, others like Alan M. Beck of Purdue University found evidence of the contrary.
Beck conducted a longitudinal study “to objectively examine the lunar influence on the frequency, duration, and intensity of behaviors in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease.” The Alzheimer’s Behaviors he examined were: wandering, anxiety, physical aggression and verbal confrontation. The study concluded that individuals with AD exhibited significantly more behaviors during periods of the full moon and that these behaviors were of a greater duration during the full moon. (https://www.alzheimers.net/does-the-full-moon-affect-alzheimers-patients)
Still, there are other scholarly articles that didn’t come to the same hypothesis. For more information check out the National Library of Medicine, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2768501/.
Our curiosity remains about this, and wonder what you think! Have you noticed changes in your mood or loved ones’ mood during a full moon? What do you think?
As always, if you or a loved one is in need of senior care or resources… please give us a call.
