Full moon doesn't trigger seizures

Contrary to what many people believe, a full moon does not trigger seizures in patients with epilepsy. However, non-epileptic seizures do seem to be more common during a full moon.Non-epileptic seizures differ from epileptic ones in a way that they are not caused by electrical disturbances in the brain, but rather by psychological or physiologic conditions, such as stress or low blood sugar. Researchers from the University of South Florida in Tampa, USA, found that the number of epileptic seizures was lowest during the full moon and highest in the moon's last quarter. They reviewed the occurrence of seizures at their epilepsy-monitoring unit during a 3-year period. The researchers calculated the number and type of seizures that occurred during the four phases of the moon. A total of 770 seizures were logged during the study period, including 470 epileptic and 300 non-epileptic seizures. In the overall analysis, seizures occurred with similar frequency during each of the moon phases. However, non-epileptic seizures were more common during a full moon phase, whereas epileptic seizures were most common during the last quarter.

The results suggest that the "full moon" theory for epileptic seizures is a myth. As to why this myth has persisted for so long, is yet to be explored.