January's full moon - Wolf Moon- will light up the winter skies this evening.
The first full moon of 2022 is set to peak at 11:48pm on Monday, January 17.
You could spot the full moon as early as this afternoon as it is set to rise at 3:17pm before peaking later into the night, according to timeanddate.
A full moon occurs when the moon is situated on the opposite side of Earth to the sun, which means its face can be fully illuminated.
Early Native American tribes named January's full after the wolf, as this was the time of year when packs of the animal would howl outside their camps.
Despite being a pretty sight, the full moon may actually be impacting you in ways you are not aware of.
Lunar activity is actually said to have an impact on your sleep.
How can the moon affect your sleep?
First of all, does lunar insomnia actually exist? A Swiss study published in the Journal of Sleep Research certainly thinks so.
During this study, researchers looked into the link between lunar phases and sleep.
They analysed the sleep patterns of 31 volunteers over the course of six weeks, which included two full moons. Participants slept in a controlled environment, and were asked to fill in a diary to track their sleep for the duration of the study.
They found that participants slept for shorter lengths of time during periods of a full moon, and found it harder to fall and stay asleep during this phase.
While it's worth noting that this change was minimal, and participants only slept around 20 minutes less on average during a full moon, the results still showed a correlation between the lunar cycle and rest.
So, if you find it hard to fall and stay asleep, or sleep a lot less during this period, you're not alone.
Full moon dates for 2022 - complete list
- January 17 – Wolf Moon
- February 16 – Snow Moon
- March 18 – Worm Moon
- April 16 – Pink Moon
- May 16 – Flower Moon
- June 14 – Strawberry Moon
- July 13 – Buck Moon
- August 11 – Sturgeon Moon
- September 10 – Harvest Moon
- October 9 – Hunter’s Moon
- November 8 – Beaver Moon
- December 7 – Cold Moon
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