Is human sleep affected by the moon cycle?

Methods

Summary

In order to track sleep and activity patterns, we provide the Toba/Qom with wrist loggers which track motion and light exposure in 1 minute epochs throughout the study. Those data loggers are worn 24/7 and provide us a wide array of data including sleep timing, duration, efficiency, and daily light exposure. With this data, we are able to extrapolate sleep and wake patterns and compare them to environmental data, such as ambient temperature. Together, we can capture an amazingly clear picture of the way sleep is timed in these communities, and address our central hypothesis concerning moon phase and activity.

Challenges

There are very few challenges that may directly impact our data. We have already implemented the majority of these methods, such as deploying and returning the wearable devices, during previous field trips with little problems. In addition, there are relatively few risks with recording ambient environmental factors like temperature. The greatest challenges with all of these trips are the indirect costs, both monetary and human, to getting our staff and equipment to the Toba/Qom population. Given the extremely rural nature of the their villages, road conditions, vehicle reliability, and travel costs present the greatest challenges. Thankfully, our team now has the experience and resourcefulness to mitigate those risks substantially.