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Across the centuries, many a person has uttered the phrase “There must be a full moon out there” in an attempt to explain weird happenings at night. Indeed, the Roman goddess of the moon bore a name that remains familiar to us today: Luna, prefix of the word “lunatic.” Greek philosopher Aristotle and Roman historian Pliny the Elder suggested that the brain was the “moistest” organ in the body and thereby most susceptible to the pernicious influences of the moon, which triggers the tides. Belief in the “lunar lunacy effect,” or “Transylvania effect,” as it is sometimes called, persisted in Europe through the Middle Ages, when humans were widely reputed to transmogrify into werewolves or vampires during a full moon.
Even today many people think the mystical powers of the full moon induce erratic behaviors, psychiatric hospital admissions, suicides, homicides, emergency room calls, traffic accidents, fights at professional hockey games, dog bites and all manner of strange events. One survey revealed that 45 percent of college students believe moonstruck humans are prone to unusual behaviors, and other surveys suggest that mental health professionals may be still more likely than laypeople to hold this conviction. In 2007 several police departments in the U.K. even added officers on full-moon nights in an effort to cope with presumed higher crime rates.
Water at Work?
Following Aristotle and Pliny the Elder, some contemporary authors, such as Miami psychiatrist Arnold Lieber, have conjectured that the full moon’s supposed effects on behavior arise from its influence on water. The human body, after all, is about 80 percent water, so perhaps the moon works its mischievous magic by somehow disrupting the alignment of water molecules in the nervous system.
But there are at least three reasons why this explanation doesn’t “hold water,” pardon the pun. First, the gravitational effects of the moon are far too minuscule to generate any meaningful effects on brain activity, let alone behavior. As the late astronomer George Abell of the University of California, Los Angeles, noted, a mosquito sitting on our arm exerts a more powerful gravitational pull on us than the moon does. Yet to the best of our knowledge, there have been no reports of a “mosquito lunacy effect.” Second, the moon’s gravitational force affects only open bodies of water, such as oceans and lakes, but not contained sources of water, such as the human brain. Third, the gravitational effect of the moon is just as potent during new moons—when the moon is invisible to us—as it is during full moons.
There is a more serious problem for fervent believers in the lunar lunacy effect: no evidence that it exists. Florida International University psychologist James Rotton, Colorado State University astronomer Roger Culver and University of Saskatchewan psychologist Ivan W. Kelly have searched far and wide for any consistent behavioral effects of the full moon. In all cases, they have come up empty-handed. By combining the results of multiple studies and treating them as though they were one huge study—a statistical procedure called meta-analysis—they have found that full moons are entirely unrelated to a host of events, including crimes, suicides, psychiatric problems and crisis center calls. In their 1985 review of 37 studies entitled “Much Ado about the Full Moon,” which appeared in one of psychology’s premier journals, Psychological Bulletin, Rotton and Kelly humorously bid adieu to the full-moon effect and concluded that further research on it was unnecessary.
Persistent critics have disagreed with this conclusion, pointing to a few positive findings that emerge in scattered studies. Still, even the handful of research claims that seem to support full-moon effects have collapsed on closer investigation. In one study published in 1982 an author team reported that traffic accidents were more frequent on full-moon nights than on other nights. Yet a fatal flaw marred these findings: in the period under consideration, full moons were more common on weekends, when more people drive. When the authors reanalyzed their data to eliminate this confounding factor, the lunar effect vanished.
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56 Comments
Add CommentI believe that the research in this article is somewhat lacking. People doing research into the effects of positive and negative ions have noticed that when there are too many positive ions in the air, the body goes into serotonin overproduction which in turn leads to hyperactive adrenal production. Eventually the adrenal gland becomes exhausted. This all leads to somatic problems and all kinds of emotional/behavioral problems that range from depression to hyperactivity. A full moon somehow triggers more positive ions into the air.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAlso, mariners know that neap tides are higher during a full moon. If a full moon can have that kind of gravitational effect on a body of water, what do you think it can do a person?
mflamand@hotmail.com
The hypothesis that the full moon deprived our ancestors of sleep and provoked erratic behavior seems far-fetched. I suggest that the full moon was considered a sacred time requiring ritualistic observation to placate the goddess or to engage in adventurous behavior. This view is perhaps equally far-fetched but more interesting, I believe!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI have always thought that it had to do with visibility at night. When that full moon is out, you can just do more outside. It is similiar to the study about auto accidents and weekends. If more people are out, more accidents will happen. Well if more people can see clearly on a full moon, more people will be out doing things. Try it. When the cloud cover is low, and there is a full moon, go outside and see observe that you can perform more tasks without artificial lighting.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI will not deny that I don't get a "weird" feeling on a full moon night either, but again I supsect it has to do with visibilty.
I used to work at an animal care clinic and we had more dogs admitted during the full moon for seizures than any other time of the month. Other illnesses seemed such as likely during any other time of the month. But the full moon, and two days before and after, we saw many more animals admitted for seizures and other brain-related illnesses. I don't know if the full moon has a similar effect on people, but it is possible. I think Matt has a good point too, move visibility makes the most sense. Also, many seizures are triggered by light, so it's possible that the dog's seizures are triggered specifically by moonlight, or moonlight reflecting off of water in a bowl, etc...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisFor me, something about the full moon is energizing. I'm a night person and the full moon always makes me want to go out and do something. The best explanation is the light levels. Because it is still moderately bright outside, my brain doesn't want to sleep. Our sleep cycles are regulated by the amount of light that is out. Also, at night, many others are asleep. This means that we have the opportunity to return to a more primal mindset because we do not have to worry as much about how our peers see us and we have the opportunity to "go nuts" without fear of judgment... unless you wake them up and they call the cops. Who we are when we do not fear punishment is entirely different from who we are in every other social situation. That may help explain the whole lunatic idea.
Pish... everyone knows that it is the *waning* of the moon, not the *full* moon that causes lunacy. Take me for example, for me the full moon is always waning or the darkness of the new moon is waning into light...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI've heard that it is a "cultural fossil," but based on gynophobic superstitions and not sleep deprivation. In medieval times the full moon was assumed to be related to womens' menstrual cycle, and it quickly became associated with erratic behavior, witchcraft etc.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAnd no offense, but I agree with blueazure: this seems like a slightly under-researched filler piece.
The pineal gland turns serotonin into melatonin based on the amount of light it receives during a day. Then, when it is dark it releases the melatonin. Could it be that a bright night interferes with the otherwise natural daily cycle of melatonin release?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe Pineal gland turns Serotonin into Melatonin in proportion to the amount of light it receives during a day. It releases this melatonin when it is dark. The amount of melatonin released on a new moon would be at peak, and on a new moon would be a trough. This is undeniably a variation of brain and body chemistry dependent on the moon (baring circumstantial complications). Considering the relaxing qualities of Melatonin, what effects might this have?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhat about menstruation and the moon? Studies have shown that artificial light at night does influence human female menstruation cycles.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI know the week before the full moon my hormones start acting up with a peak at the full moon. Could this be an explanation for crazy behavior on the full moon? I know it is for me.
As a few folks have noted, there is *much* more light at night when the moon is full. That does change the behavior of critters. Sometime when there is a summer lunar eclipse go out to the edge of a swamp/wetland and listen. You will hear strangled versions of the sunset/sunrise sounds birds make as they are confused by the rapid change in light level.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIn short, I would expect a stronger effect on people living away from bright city lights.
The difference in gravitational pull between a darkened and full moon is very small in deed. The moons influence must be hormonal. The coral reefs release their seeds at full moon, so why souldn't beings with eyes have the possibility to be affected too? I definitely feel "energized" at a full moon.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMy mother-in-law developed an allergy to metals during adulthood and can only were the purest of gold jewelry. Nevertheless, during each month's full moon, all her rings turn her fingers black. When the full moon subsides, the blackening of her fingers does too. I've never heard of this from anyone else, but I've seen it happen and have no doubt about it being related to the full moon. Has anyone ever heard of such a thing, and does anyone have any ideas about how the moon would cause this effect? My guess is that my mother-in-law's body can't tolerate metals due to having an overabundance in her body, and when the moon is full, the metals in her body react to the electromagnetism generated by the moon. Any other ideas out there?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI find it ridiculous how so much time is spent trying to debunk the effects of the moon on humans. Whether or not the moon causes lunacy, it definitely has a strong physiological effect on humans, which is plainly demonstrated by women's menstrual cycles, which are in sync with the phases of the moon. There is no doubt in my mind that there's a direct chemical synergy between all life on earth and the moon. Instead of debunking its effects, why not do some real research into its most obvious effects on life on earth -- such as it has on the tides, on coral reefs, on reproduction generally. And whether its effects are related to its gravitational pull alone or also from its electromagnetic qualities on the metals in our bodies. It wasn't very long ago that scientists didn't think humans had electromagnetic fields just like the earth, but we now know that practically all life forms do. Maybe you need to look at the moon's effects on our body chemistry with a more open mind.
". . . a mosquito sitting on our arm exerts a more powerful gravitational pull on us than the moon does. Yet to the best of our knowledge, there have been no reports of a mosquito lunacy effect. "
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI hereby make the first official report of the "mosquito lunacy effect": Every time, without exception, when I have found a mosquito sitting on my arm I tend to succumb to an irresistible urge to engage in a crazed swatting motion followed by vehement cursing at blood sucking insect life!! Also, I have NEVER noticed a mosquito causing even the slightest of tides, But I have observed the Moon doing it on numerous occasions. :-)
An illuminating story...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisA man is walking down the street late at night and sees an obviously drunk man crawling around on hands and knees in the street under a street lamp.
The man asks the drunk, "What are you doing?"
The drunk answered, "Looking for my car keys."
"Where did you lose them?" the man asked.
"Back there in the alley," replied the drunk.
The bemused man asks, "Then why are you looking for your keys here in the street?"
The drunk states, "Because the light is better."
I was raised in rural America long before there were artificial lights along the streets and highways. When the moon was full and the weather agreeable, every kid for miles around were out of doors and, inevitably, some were up to mischief.
Today's city folk could never understand the full effects the moon's illumination had on us kids way back when.
We might consider how lunar illumination might have affected the life of pre-industrial peoples: bushmen in Africa still hunt on nights when the moon is bright. If you are a bush-woman, its probably a good idea to be fertile when the men return from a week or twos hunting ! Thus, at least, we have a potential driver for the establishment of a 28 day menstrual cycle.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe low levels of light on full moon nights relative for what is required to have significant effects on melatonion levels refutes the melatonine effect hypothesis. The wakefullness hypothyesn from more difficulty sleeping on a full moon night is a more likely hypothesis, from my experience as a mental health clinician
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisRight on "Matt Loves Science" - I think visibility is key. Same reason my cat likes to run around extra on a full moon night.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI worked for four years at an Occupational Development center with people with many types of mental and physical problems.. We had a case load of about one hundred and twenty clients and we always knew when the moon was getting full as about a third of them would start to become harder to handle no one can ever tell me enough to convince me that a full moon does not change some people
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI've had one or more cats almost all of my several decades of life. Invariably, they have been more active, more playful, more rambunctious, more in need of attention around full moon time as well as around new moon time. Their moon related behaviors would begin a couple of days before the full or new phase and run until the day/night of the full or new moon or until the day/night after. This held true even if the sky was totally overcast during that period, so it was not strictly light related activity due to brightness during the night. Also, during the new moon, it is especially dark rather than especially light during the night. When there was bright full moonlight during the night, that caused the cats to spend more time looking out the windows during the night. Interestingly, during the spring and fall, the effect of the new moon can actually be stronger than the effect of the full moon, whereas during the summer and winter the effect of the full moon is stronger than that of the new moon. Finally, I've observed that some cats are much more affected by the phases of the moon than are other cats. Ditto for people.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI am also disappointed with this article, which is somewhat dismissive of the theory. I am the father of an 18 year old boy who is severely autistic and unable to talk. My entire family and our range of extended carers are constantly dumbstruck at the correlation between my son's disruptive "all-night" manic episodes where he is unable to sleep and walks the house restless all night - ALWAYS within 2 days of a full moon. His room is dark, and even when he falls asleep , he usually wakes within minutes...always restless & troubled.. A simplem search of google will yield thousands of stories from the parents of other Autistic children. Are we really all imagining it?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe only thing I ben noticed the moon is very close to the Hearth and when this happen the Ocean change and trhe climate also change.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI understand the Moon every year get close, but right now is very,very close I don't think this is kind of normal someone can explain?
I noticed the Moon is very,very close from last year till now I don't think this is normal.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI understand every year is kind of close to our Home but this time is more is some one there can explain what is goin on right now.
blueazurelight, I'd like to know what mariners you've talked to who claim that neap tides are higher during a full moon.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisA neap tide only ever occurs when a moon is at First or Third quarter. By definition it is impossible to have a neap tide during a full moon.
Scientists "seeking far and wide" for evidence of changes to the human psyche at full moon - how can we verify their alleged activity? Having cared for mentally challenged children in a Camphill hostel for years, as I have, I suggest the scientists should hear the screaming and yelling in full-moon nights, then they would not need to look further.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI am a sensible person who des not believe in astology or any other such nonsense but what i do know is that my son who is now 38 actually becomes physically ill during the full moon. It does affect his behaviour as he cannot sleep and thus becomes irritable and unhappy. He LITERALLY changes colour, his face takes on a grey pallor and he feels generally rotten. His long suffering wife dreads the full moon. May I also add that they are both totally unsuperstitious but desperate for help! Because the "luna lunacy effect" is so universally poo pooed no help is available. If anyone has had a similar experience and has managed to find something to help PLEASE LET US KNOW!! My email address is mariah.fullman@sky.com
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThank you for this article! I worked in a hospital ER for 6 years, often at night, and sometimes the emergencies and activity levels increased on full moons and sometimes they didn't. And some full moons were as calm as can be. I agree with the idea that people notice odd things more around the full moon because they expect more odd things. (Now, somebody please tell me why do people believe that bad (or good) things happen in threes?)
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisif the moons gravity can move the sea! you would be a fool
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisto think that even a small shift in the human emi field would not cause distress. considering the military's billions of dollars spent on emi based weapons are you people really that stupid
fringe science barely knows anything about the fine mechanics of the mind now this so called phd of physics
thinks that five or six blind study's are going to unlock the holy grail we don't even know what variables are in order, this is why "science is called an art form" for god sakes we have barley evolved from 14 century alchemy
and doctor pretend what they learned in med school is the
the word of god if that was the case i would expect a lot less
casualty form pharmaceutical drugs in short the person in question that wrote this article should have there license revoked
The moon has been with our biological family for, well, ever really. I am more then willing to bet we'll find genetic information in us that directly correlates with lunar cycles. So to say that the full moon has no effect is "lunacy". Had to throw that in there.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMenstruation=monthly cycle. Explain that!!!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMy thoughts on fullmoon activity is that it is genetic. Going back to a time when we hunter-gathers during periods of fullmoon we had light to see to do hunter-gather activities. Our modren day selves get the urge to do something in the light of the moon. Besides howling at it.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisb;la ae5
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisb;la ae5
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI believe that through evolution our human ancestors always valued the full moon as a time of opportunity. Hunting was better for males in particular because there was more light at night. This difference in light would have been significant during the earliest days of mankind when there was no electricity. Menstrual cycles may have linesd up with the male increase in agression so that procreation was enhanced. Doesn't seem that complex when you think about Darwin and how species adapt to survive.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisTonight, being a full moon in the sign of Scorpio, should be a time of great power for those born under the sign the moon occupies. An increase in light energy being radiated back to earth can increase circadian rhythm and give overall feelings of well being. This time also corresponds to six month period of time in which Scorpio begins. The positive attributes that can be derived by the placebo effect a person "beleives" they are experiencing support full moon lunacy. Although a psuedoscience of sorts, positive thinking can be a springboard for action. People beleiving in the full moon invision themself doing out of the normal behavior.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNo science involved here....just saying.
So i suppose sunlight doesn't affect our behavior either, if it were dark during the day some days of the month would that affect you?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisand considering that in the far and distangt past the moon was closer than now so we may have a moon biorhythm and a solar biorhythm...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSunlight should affect behavoir. beside the vitamin A received by sunlight and difficulty associated with Seasonal Affective Disorder(SAD) where many people may feel exteme bouts of depression due to lack of sunlight. Human behavoir ultimately is the responsibility of the individual, and should not be excused by lunacy( we have much more medically acceptabe terms now ADD,ADHD, or clinical depression for example).
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMaybe there are celestial body cycles. I was born iduring a time when Pluto's orbit crossed within Uranus' eliptical orbit(Circa 1979) where it remained for an 11year period. The last time that had occurred was when George Washington( 1st U.S. president) was a teenager.
And a biorythym based off a planet Pluto for example orbits in an eliptical pattern where it crossed within the orbit of Uranus and remained there for an 21 year period( 1979-1992). Last time that event occurred was when George Washington was a teenager
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAnd a biorythym based off a planet Pluto for example orbits in an eliptical pattern where it crossed within the orbit of Uranus and remained there for an 21 year period( 1979-1992). Last time that event occurred was when George Washington was a teenager
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thismy granddaughter notice this the morning that the moon was still out, it was 8:30 in the morning and the moon was white can anyone explained what this was?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thiswhile this theory is unproven, it does not mean that it isn't true. scientists just need to accept that there will always be some things that cannot be explained. spend some time in a psych ward on a full moon and then on a "regular" night and one can experience first hand the amplified effects on a patient's behavior. especially because they are unaware that there is even a full moon out this suggests the theory to have some truth.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisalso it is a full moon right now and my behavior all night has been erratic. i keep track of my behavior closely and i would have to say that it is very close to my actions during menstruation, although my not nearly as melancholy. i find the ion proposal very intriguing and feel this should be researched more fully. my opinion still remains the same and there is likely nothing to do for this other "time of the month" but if one recognizes their ability to be affected by it, it can likely be controlled.
A contained fluid can still be affected by gravitaional field unnoticed just as the vast magnitude earth which is contained by several layers of atmosphere. It is not open at all as one may think and the body is an elastic container that is easily affected unnoticed by gravitaional effect which is indirectly manifested outward. Elasticity and pressure of the containment counts.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMy wife and I conceived twins on a bright full moon and it was like none other. Every so often during a full moon we feel an echo of that. Yes it is very real in my family.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisa night before the full moon makes me moony loonie sentimental dreamy ache in my heart like. esply months of late summer -fall.[tropics].
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this=like now, 1030PM, Ind, 25july2010 Full moon in Sagittarius the miky way, monsoon cloud-bits playing,..that is when my woman is far away, and i am moody. la paloma wings of a dove ! SO YOU SEE THE MOON DOES HAVE AN EFFECT ON THE HUMORS OF HE BODY!!!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisyes i feel more love lorn at full moon.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishrimpurustala confused?[2 sept 09].
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisTomOH, menstr 30day cycle and moon and menses are related but need NOT synchro.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWell for we vampirist the full moon is a peacful time were we may collect our mind body and spirit due to the full moons energy or "chi" if you will.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI love the fact that you and WIIIIIN bring up the effect of the moon on hormones. Yes they have a powerful effect on how we feel and want to act. If out of wack for what ever reason it can take a toll on your life if you don't seek treatment or don't even realize you have an imbalance. I've been diagnosed as estrogen dominant (to much of it) and have suffered from adrenal fatigue. I've had two hypomanic episodes with a family history of mania, depression,anxiety, panic attack, etc. I've read about how much the adrenals are involved in mania. They're a major player. They help you cope with stress. But if they get fatigue from too much stress (good or bad) they'll weaken or completely burnout on ya. Then you end up being depressed or go into overdrive (mania)or both. During my last hypomanic episode I noticed that I would become calm and feel more balanced during my period. But gauranteed on the last day of it I started feeling reved up and wound up again. And I feel that is largely due to estrogen. I've also noticed at ovulation time I'd feel more energetic and zany.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI'm glad someone else noticed the mosquito tide! And I second the claim of MLE (mosquito lunacy effect), as I have had similar symptoms. - the comment in the article about mosquito and lunar gravitational pulls struck me as especially odd, what a claim!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIn the bhagavad gita it says that some beengs drink some form of juice in the moon and fall down in "hell" laterwards.. ive seen some flowers who are white who are up opened during night and fall down to the ground during day.. maybe these flowers drink some sort of invinvible water from the moon.. that might explain these strange behaviours during full moon.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishttp://www.holkapolka.com/english/index.htm Blog about philosophy, religion and nature.
I have a similar thought towards "Lunar effect might once been real". Humans, like all animals used to hunt and/or get hunted. Full-moon nights offer either humans or their predators an advantage/disadvantage in this. Humans as a whole might not been sleeping well on full moon days before, because of such fear. Or, their hunting instinct might had been at peak during those times, in any case causing some amount of aggression.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis might have caused the lunar lunacy effect. Now the hunting instinct or fear got subdued, but not the surrounding effect or periodic lunacy (by full-moon day).
Don't forget that a Full Moon is the alignment(occultation/syzygy) of Earth, the Moon, and the Sun with the Moon and Sun on opposite sides. The New Moon is when the Moon is in the middle of the other two but also in alignment (occultation/zysygy). It appears black because the Sun is behind it from our point of view. These are the two strongest points because both the Sun and the Moon have the most powerful gravitational influence on the Earth. If they are both on one side(in the case of a New Moon) you will get the same amount of total gravitational influence all to one direction and as for the Full Moon you would get a dynamic split in polor opposite directions. Think of it like an AC motor.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisFull Moon New Moon
Moon Earth Sun Earth Moon Sun
Scott O. Lilienfeld and Hal Arkowitz wrote(and since when does it take two people to write such an uninteresting article?)
"First, the gravitational effects of the moon are far too minuscule to generate any meaningful effects on brain activity, let alone behavior. As the late astronomer George Abell of the University of California, Los Angeles, noted, a mosquito sitting on our arm exerts a more powerful gravitational pull on us than the moon does".
The mosquito has a more powerful gravitational force on the closest cells not your brain. either the astronomer or the two writers like to misinform/pull one over on their audience it seems.
Then they go on to say," Third, the gravitational effect of the moon is just as potent during new moons—when the moon is invisible to us—as it is during full moons.
In both cases the gravity is being pull along the same alignment, etc...
With a lot of experience I can confirm that there is an effect of the moon on earth itself and on the humans and animals who live on it. It is the gravitational effect and not the light effect, light happens to come with it. The tides always is highest on the full moon day. The water in the body must be affected with the same gravitational pull.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisId like to add one insight into this discussion. I have suffered from Cluster Headaches since early adolescence. These headaches occur like clockwork in the winter and summer. They coincide perfectly with the winter/summer solstice. I can set my calender for the onset within a day or so.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cluster_headache
The only relief from these headaches has been breathing pure oxygen at the onset. No pain killer will help. Steroids (prednisone) offer slight relief. Melatonin seems to help shorten the length of the cycle. The pineal/serotonin system is the most likely causal factor.
The regulation of Tryptophan (precursor to serotonin and melatonin) is a likely candidate in my opinion.
Tryptophan Oxygenase, (aka Tryptophan Pyrrolase) regulates Tryptophan in the body. There by strongly influencing serotonin and melatonin.
Tryptophan Oxygenase is a most fascinating factor in mental disease. Its relevance in mental disorders (depression/addiction/sleep) and relationship to the serotonin system.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10721064