The Encyclopedia of Crystals, Herbs, and New Age Elements: An A to Z Guide to New Age Elements and How to Use Them - Adams Media 2016

Biorhythms
The Power of Insight: Divination Systems, Tools, and Practices

ORIGINS

Biorhythms are rhythmic biological cycles that affect our physical, emotional, and intellectual activity. Many believe that by charting these biorhythms mathematically we can predict our level of activity in each of these areas. Most biorhythm models use three cycles: a twenty-three-day physical cycle, a twenty-eight-day emotional cycle, and a thirty-three-day intellectual cycle. The idea is that by monitoring the highs and lows of these cycles, you can improve your life. For example, you might try to avoid having difficult conversations with your partner during emotional lows, or you might wait until a time of physical highs to engage in an athletic competition.

HISTORY/LORE

One of the first people to study biorhythms was the German physician Wilhelm Fliess (1858—1928), a close friend of Sigmund Freud. He labeled the twenty-three-day cycle “male” and the twenty-eight-day cycle “female,” the latter due to its connection to the female menstrual cycle. Charting biorhythms became a popular practice in the 1970s, in part because of a series of books by Bernard Gittelson, including Biorhythm: A Personal Science. At the time, it was common to see biorhythm machines in video arcades and biorhythm charts alongside horoscopes in newspapers. You could even buy your own personal hand-held biorhythm calculator, such as the Casio Biolator.

USES

Biorhythm theory is not as popular as it once was, but there are still many people who chart their biorhythms and many physical and mental health practitioners who chart the biorhythms of their patients with the goal of improving overall health or treating certain conditions, such as sleep disorders or depression. The simplest way to get started with biorhythms on your own is to try one of the many biorhythms calculators that are available online, most of which can generate your biorhythms chart based on your date of birth.