Thursday, July 5, 2012

Biorhythm Facts

Biorhythmics is the theory that each person's physical, emotional, intellectual and intuitive functions fluctuate in consistent mathematical cycles, and that performance in these areas on certain days can be forecast by observing the movements of sin curves.


History


Biorhythm theory first appeared in the early 1900s. Dr. Hermann Swoboda, professor of psychology at the University of Vienna, and Dr. Wilhelm Fliess, a nose and throat specialist and colleague of Sigmund Freud, conducted independent studies that resulted in identical observations about the periodicity of certain life factors, which seemed to relate to the positive and negative energy fields in people's bodies. Though not an exact science, biorhythm described the phenomenon of similar patterns and phases manifesting in patients.


Cycles


There are three main biorhythm cycles: the physical cycle (23 days), which controls strength, coordination, sex drive, endurance, metabolism and the immune system; the emotional cycle (28 days), which controls mood, feelings, sexuality, fantasy, creativity and temperament; and the intellectual cycle (33 days), which controls intelligence, thought, logic, decision-making and memory.


The physical cycle is usually attributed as the dominant cycle in men, while the emotional cycle (though not necessarily coincidental with the menstrual cycle) is usually attributed as the dominant cycle in women.


Formulas


Each cycle can be described as a sine curve as follows:


Physical: sin(2πt / 23)


Emotional: sin(2πt / 28)


Intellectual: sin(2πt / 33)








Interpretation


When a cycle's curve is above the midline, that aspect of a person's life is said to be functioning well or above average. When it is below the midline, that aspect is below average. For example, if your physical curve is above the midline on any given day, you might feel stronger, more energetic and less likely to get sick. When your emotional curve is below the midline, you might find yourself in a bad mood. Periods when curves cross the axis from one polarity or another are called "critical days." Critical days are said to be marked with instability in the corresponding aspect of life.

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