# Moon cycle and menstruation and... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 3, 2010, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900 "2010-10-03T08:06:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2010, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900/21 "2010-10-03T22:22:57Z")
**InterestedObserver** , have you ever considered publishing that data? For a condition that affects half the population, there’s surprisingly little actual research on the topic. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2010, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900/22 "2010-10-03T22:31:02Z")
> [@InterestedObserver](#): > > Just my anecdotal input, for whatever it’s worth. It does seem strange that there isn’t real evidence on this, one way or the other, doesn’t it? My anecdotal experiences mirror yours, except that I’ve never been out in only (or predominantly) moonlight for more than 2 cycles, living in a large city with lots of light pollution. So I’ve never been sure whether it’s coincidence, the physical stress of camping bumping my cycle off kilter or a real phenomenon. > [@](#): > > And my daughter, when she was younger, used to call them “knee pits” (never called the spaces between her toes anything but “between my toes”). I have ho idea if there is a proper name. 😕 Are we talking about the back of the knee? It’s called the popliteal fossa. POP-luh-teal FAW-suh. Fun name, eh? I just love the sound of it and the way it sparkles in my mouth like sipping champagne. 😃 The spaces between the toes (and between the fingers) are “interspaces”. The skin in each space is called the “web”. Bor-ring! ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2010, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900/23 "2010-10-03T23:26:28Z")
One theory discussed in my college women’s studies class was that women would greatly increase the chances of our cycles meshing with the moon if we would spend most or all of our time out-of-doors. Kinda hard for college students so we never proved the theory. One woman in the class with Native American heritage said this information was common knowledge in her family. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2010, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900/24 "2010-10-03T23:30:16Z")
The back of the knee is the popliteal. Toe space is, umm, toe space? ---
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900/25 "2010-10-04T00:41:11Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > > [@Malacandra](#): > > > > 'Cos, of course, men can know all about any amount of biology and medicine and so on, except for stuff about women’s bodies - knowledge about the female reproductive system is located directly in the ovaries! > > Yeah, cause the early half of this thread had so much biological and medical information in them. So, your reaction to your concern about the lack of medical knowledge displayed is to suggest that men can’t know about how women’s bodies work? ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900/26 "2010-10-04T03:40:48Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Are we talking about the back of the knee? That’s was I was thinking about. But it just now occurs to me that I was thinking of it as the corollary to the arm pit, but it’s not. It’s more appropriately paired with the elbow pit (what’s that called?). I guess the arm pits don’t really have a match since there’s only one taint. Except for the extremely well endowed I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900/27 "2010-10-04T07:01:57Z")
> [@](#): > > So, your reaction to your concern about the lack of medical knowledge displayed is to suggest that men can’t know about how women’s bodies work? Some men do have a lot of knowledge about how women’s bodies works. Most men could gain this knowledge. However, a lot of men DON’T know how women’s bodies work, and would vastly prefer to remain ignorant of many subjects, except on a real “need to know” basis, such as when Aunt Flo is coming to visit. And a lot of men have a lot of misconceptions of how women’s bodies work. Same goes for men’s knowledge of women’s minds. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900/28 "2010-10-04T11:56:47Z")
To be fair, Lynn, most \*people \*have only the vaguest idea how their own bodies work, and rely on folk tales. This goes for leg cramps, headaches and indigestion as well as “female issues”. ---
**Author:** ![frothozone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/96bed5/32.png) [@frothozone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/frothozone)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900/29 "2010-10-04T12:12:25Z")
I feel it is totally a myth that the moon has some effect on our body cycles. It is baseless, and never been proved. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900/30 "2010-10-04T12:13:29Z")
You have a point. Many men, for instance, seem convinced that they are gonna DIE if they don’t have sex. And I don’t know how many women really and truly believe that they are discharging blood when they have their menstrual cycles. I’ve been gritting my teeth and explaining that it’s not really blood for the most part, but is mostly a specialized tissue that looks like blood, but so far I’ve made little progress in this area. I know that I had a Health class in high school, and so did my daughter, and we paid attention in that class. But one semester does little to fight the ignorance of a lifetime. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900/31 "2010-10-04T12:34:30Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > You have a point. Many men, for instance, seem convinced that they are gonna DIE if they don’t have sex. No, that’s just what they\* tell\* women. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900/32 "2010-10-04T13:13:23Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > > [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > > > You have a point. Many men, for instance, seem convinced that they are gonna DIE if they don’t have sex. > > No, that’s just what they\* tell\* women. No, we will really die if we don’t have sex. Look at the deaths of every male in history - every single one them, at one point in time or another, engaged in the dangerous practice of not having sex. Coincidence? ---
**Author:** ![Gilliver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/5fc32e/32.png) [@Gilliver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gilliver)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900/33 "2010-10-04T14:40:52Z")
I started wondering about this when I read “The Red Tent”. From Spark notes: _The women in Dinah’s family menstruate at the same time, attributing their cycles to that of the moon, and thus allowing them to celebrate the lunar cycle together each month. Their dependence on the land for food, exposure to the elements, and close observations of the cycles of the sun and moon to mark time forged strong bonds between people and nature—bond much stronger than those generally possessed by people today. The women’s worship of the moon’s power also signified the renewal of their bodies and the gifts of health and fertility they received from the goddess Innana._ The Red Tent, of course, is a novel so I dont know how factual it is but the author would have us believe that in biblical times all women were on the same cycle and it coincided with the lunar cycle. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900/34 "2010-10-04T15:19:07Z")
With menstrual cycles averaging 28 days ([Menstrual cycle - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menstrual_cycle)); lunar cycle takign about 29.53 days ([Lunar phase - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_cycle)); and the half life of Chromium 51 being 27.704 days ([Half Lives Plexus-NSD](http://www.iem-inc.com/toolhalf.html)); it would seem that the menstrual cycle is more closely tied to the decay of Chromium than to the moon. At the end of the year, the cycles would only be off by about 4 days from chromium, while the they would be off by over half of a month from the lunar cycle - assuming that all 3 started on Jan 1. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900/35 "2010-10-04T19:23:10Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > You have a point. Many men, for instance, seem convinced that they are gonna DIE if they don’t have sex. Ha ha, whee. Anyone else, I guess I’d draw an Admin’s attention to this… :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900/36 "2010-10-04T19:51:01Z")
If women’s cycles were affected by the moon and/or artificial light, what would account for the fact that many women experience a change in the length of their cycle as they age? Up until I was 28 or 29, my cycle was 29 days. For the past few years it has been 26 days. I’ve lived in the same house, with the same exposure/lack there of to moonlight for 13 years (there are no street lights, but the house is lit inside every night) and the lunar cycle didn’t shorten itself, so neither of the conditions in the first sentence have changed… not only that, all of my reproductive life my period has abruptly come up to a week early - while at the same time the dates of the full moon seems to only shift by [one to two days](http://moonphases.info/full_moon_calendar_dates.html)a month - once every 6-18 months, resetting to a new “I’ll be back in 29 (or now 26) days” which it then maintained until the next time it decides to shift to an earlier part of the month. Given both of these things, the moon can’t be having have a strong effect on me then, can it? I doubt I’m especially free of the pull of the moon. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900/37 "2010-10-04T20:05:41Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > …Are we talking about the back of the knee? It’s called the popliteal fossa. POP-luh-teal FAW-suh. Fun name, eh? … Is that “coolest new word you’ve learned” thread still around? This qualifies! Thanks for including the pronounciation guide. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900/38 "2010-10-04T20:36:54Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > So, your reaction to your concern about the lack of medical knowledge displayed is to suggest that men can’t know about how women’s bodies work? > > Some men do have a lot of knowledge about how women’s bodies works. Most men could gain this knowledge. However, a lot of men DON’T know how women’s bodies work, and would vastly prefer to remain ignorant of many subjects, except on a real “need to know” basis, such as when Aunt Flo is coming to visit. And a lot of men have a lot of misconceptions of how women’s bodies work. > > Same goes for men’s knowledge of women’s minds. and that would be different from women’s knowledge of men’s minds and bodies how exactly, then? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900/39 "2010-10-04T20:50:53Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > It’s more appropriately paired with the elbow pit (what’s that called?). I guess the arm pits don’t really have a match since there’s only one taint. Except for the extremely well endowed I guess. The elbow pit is the cubital fossa. 🙂 (Fossa just means “surface”, so it’s the surface of the cubital region.) ---
**Author:** ![Gestalt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/90ced4/32.png) [@Gestalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gestalt)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900/40 "2010-10-04T21:04:28Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Are there any actual women in this thread at ALL? It’s so cute when men tell us all about how our bodies work! I would think that the vast majority of gynecological discoveries before, 1920 or so at least, were made by men. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900.md?page=3)