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A review and applications of monthly circadian rhythms
Author(s) -
BARBER C. F.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of psychiatric and mental health nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.69
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1365-2850
pISSN - 1351-0126
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2850.2009.01525.x
Subject(s) - infradian rhythm , circadian rhythm , mood , rhythm , chronobiology , period (music) , psychology , mental health , epilepsy , psychiatry , medicine , neuroscience , ultradian rhythm , physics , acoustics
Accessible summary• For many decades in learning disability and mental health services people's mood, neurological and mental state and resultant behaviour has been linked, anecdotally, to the phases of the moon. • Despite many papers, books and papers available on circadian rhythms (the 24‐h ‘body clock’), little has been written on the effects that longer time cycles (infradian rhythms) may have on neurological conditions such as epilepsy and mental states and behaviour. • The nature of infradian rhythms and possible links to lunar phases were investigated, using the incidence of epileptic seizure rates over 4 years and the incidence of a decline in mood and other mental states as case studies. • It was shown that there were no proven links between epilepsy, mood, mental state, people's behaviour and the phases of the moon, although time could play a factor. • A more in‐depth study may well demonstrate such a link between the phases of the moon and people's mental state and behaviour.Abstract Much is known and has been written around the concept and application of circadian rhythms to the human body, which has contributed to a greater understanding of how the physiology of the human body works, interacts and changes over a twenty 4‐h time period. What is less understood is whether and how the physical body and mental behaviour changes over the much larger time scale of a month and beyond. This paper sets out to explore this relationship between time, physiology and behaviour through investigating both the existing literature on the subject and the connection between the phases of the moon and the occurrence of epileptic seizures and aggression.