Scientists have noticed correlations between solar flares and people’s moods. They say the solar storms can desynchronize our biological clocks and effect a gland in our brain that controls sleep. So if you feel super sleepy right now, blame the sun. It’s throwing your internal clock all out of whack.

A solar storm is a disturbance on the Sun, which can emanate outward across the heliosphere, affecting the entire Solar System, including Earth and its magnetosphere, and is the cause of space weather in the short-term with long-term patterns comprising space climate.

The bursts of radiation often head toward Earth, and while harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth’s atmosphere to physically affect humans, if they are strong enough, they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and other communications signals travel.

Solar storms are known to desynchronize our circadian rhythm, which is the internal biological clock that controls our sleep and wake times. Our pineal glands are affected by this electromagnetic activity and produce an increase in melatonin—thus disturbing our sleep and impacting our intuition.

The solar flare that’s expected to hit Earth might hit satellites in the Earth’s upper atmosphere, which in turn, will impact GPS navigation, mobile phone signals, air travel, and satellite TV. The storm has been classified as G-1 or ‘minor’ by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

If the ejection is in the direction of the Earth, particles associated with this disturbance can penetrate into the upper atmosphere (the ionosphere) and cause bright auroras, and may even disrupt long-range radio communication. It usually takes days for the solar plasma ejecta to reach Earth.

Solar storms emit radiations, exposure to which is harmful to humans and can cause organ damage, radiation sickness and cancer. This is due to the fact that the Earth’s atmosphere acts as a protective shield for living beings, absorbing most of the radiation.

The frequency of occurrence of solar flares varies following the 11-year solar cycle. It can range from several per day during solar maximum to less than one every week during solar minimum. Large flares are less frequent than smaller ones.

The Carrington Event was a powerful geomagnetic storm on 1–2 September 1859, during solar cycle 10 (1855–1867). The solar storm of 2012 was of similar magnitude, but it passed Earth’s orbit without striking the planet, missing by nine days.

Solar storms are known to desynchronize our circadian rhythm, which is the internal biological clock that controls our sleep and wake times. Our pineal glands are affected by this electromagnetic activity and produce an increase in melatonin —thus disturbing our sleep and impacting our intuition.

Severe Geomagnetic Storm & Flares Causing Widespread Sleep Disturbances & Other Human Health Effects. Many people are experiencing disturbances with their circadian rhythms, waking up around 2am and having trouble getting back to sleep. “ Solar storms desynchronize our circadian rhythm (biological clock).

The pineal gland in our brain is affected by the electromagnetic activity, and [solar storms cause] the gland to produce excess melatonin, the brain’s built in ‘downer’ that helps us sleep. ‘The circadian regulatory system depends on repeated environmental cues to [synchronize] internal clocks,’ says psychiatrist Kelly Posner, Columbia University.

>> Having difficulty focusing, experiencing confusion, or having a “foggy mind.” >> Feelings of intense hunger or thirst. >> Extreme fatigue, exhaustion, lack of energy, insomnia, disturbed sleep patterns. >> Seemingly out-the-blue bouts of irritability, frustration, sadness, nervousness, anger, worry, fear, grief, and overwhelm.