Biorhythms: Are They Real?

There's  no doubt that our bodies go through several cycles. There is, in fact, a branch of biology called chronobiology that is devoted to the study of rhythms, or cycles, in living beings, and there's no question about its validity. The first indication that there might be body rhythms came in 1890 when the Berlin physician Wilhelm Fliess began researching the occurance of fevers, illnesses and deaths amongst his patients. He came to the conclusion that our bodies undergo two rhythms, or cycles: a 23 day cycle and a 33 day cycle. The 23 day cycle was a physical cycle that affected our well-being, strength and coordination; the 33 day cycle was an emotional cycle that affected our mood, awareness, creativity and perception. This was taken a step further in the 1920's when the Austrian engineer. Alfred Teltscher, added a third cycle that he referred to an an intellectual cycle; he claimed it had a period of 33 days

     According to Fliess and Teltscher, these three cycles were biological rhythms or biorhythms that effected our life, and they were particularly important in relation to our everyday tasks. They were controlled by the bioelectricity in our body. Each cycle went through a positive and negative phase. In general, when you were in the positive part of the cycle, you were better able to interact with the world in  all three areas. The days when the cycle passed through the first day of the cycle were critical days -- days you were suppose to watch. You might, for example, be more accident-prone on these days.

     Not everyone believes in bioyhthms, however,  Most scientists will admit that there our physical, emotional, and intellectual states are continually changing, and they may go through some sort of cycle, but not necessarily the ones put forward by Fliess and Teltscher. What do you think?

Barry Parker,  author of "Learn from Yesterday, Live for Today, Hope for Tomorrow."  Webpage: Barryparkerbooks.com