Findings revealed that around the full Moon, brain activity related to deep sleep dropped by nearly a third. Melatonin levels also dipped.
The volunteers also took five minutes longer to fall asleep and slept for 20 minutes less when there was a full Moon.
Prof Cajochen said: “The lunar cycle seems to influence human sleep, even when one does not ‘see’ the Moon and is not aware of the actual moon phase.”
Some people may be exquisitely sensitive to the Moon, say the researchers.