Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18634 in Books
• Published on: 2001-04-24
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 448 pages

From Amazon.com
We've all used the terms night owl and early riser; all felt the intense hunger pangs of midday and the subsequent ebb of energy after lunch; and all know what time of day we prefer to exercise or have sex. As explained in The Body Clock Guide to Better Health, these are normal cycles controlled by a sort of biological timepiece (housed in the brain's hypothalamus) that regulates everything from sleeping and eating patterns to heart rate, body temperature, and hormone production. These rhythms are vital to everyday functioning, yet, the authors claim, they're mostly overlooked when doctors prescribe treatment. This oversight, they suggest, diminishes the effectiveness of medical care; the potential for recovery and better health is enhanced when the timing of medication and other treatment is aligned with certain internal rhythms.

The Body Clock is an exhaustive guide to the merits of chronotherapy, which synchronizes healthcare with the patient's internal clock. This can be as simple as taking pain relievers at the time of day the body will best benefit from the medication, such as several hours before the patient's pain threshold will be at its lowest. (For most people, this is in the early morning; for this reason you're probably better off scheduling dental work in the late afternoon if possible.) Chronotherapy also has been shown to be effective for people managing chronic health problems such as asthma, fibromyalgia, and arthritis.

The authors, Michael Smolensky, who is director of the Memorial-Hermann Chronobiology Center and a professor at the University of Texas-Houston's School of Public Health, and Lynne Lamberg, a health writer, explain how monitoring one's clock by keeping a "chronorecord"--a personal chart that maps variations in mood, alertness, sleep cycle, eating habits, and symptoms of pain--can empower us in achieving long-term vitality. Chapter by chapter, they show how timing is everything, whether applied to weight loss, sleep, sex, exercise, or recovery from illness. In the section "Sickness and Health from A to (Nearly) Z," they address issues ranging from depression and hay fever to heartburn and skin disorders, giving practical advice on how to integrate awareness of the body clock and conventional treatment methods. For example, application of topical treatments such as moisturizers and hydrocortisone creams may be more beneficial in the afternoon than the morning because body temperature is higher and the skin more porous. Chronobiology may also explain the seasonality of illnesses: multiple sclerosis tends to worsen in late spring and summer; testicular cancer is diagnosed more in winter; and postmenopausal women detect their own breast cancers most frequently in the fall, probably due to "annual cycles in ... hormone activity or seasonal changes in melatonin secretion."

Aside from the insight we gain into our body's rhythms, perhaps The Body Clock's most valuable contribution is its advocacy of a more holistic understanding of bodily cycles and our capacity for healing. While not a replacement for conventional medical care, chronotherapy may at least give a helping hand in the process of recovery and health maintenance, adding a more personal dimension to the ordinary routines of conventional medical care. The Body Clock is an engaging resource for those who take, or want to take, an active role in wellness. --Rebecca Wright

From Publishers Weekly
A leading authority in the field of "chronotherapy"Aadjusting medical treatment to align with the body's natural clockASmolensky starts with an overview of how people's circadian rhythms affect their health and then explains treatments for a variety of ailments. Though still not fully understood or recognized by many in the medical profession, chronomedicine is important, the authors argue, for several reasons, among them: illness symptoms can vary by time of day, and the hour of day can affect diagnosis and treatment. For example, blood pressure increases in the morning; that's why there are more fatal heart attacks and strokes in the morning than at any other time of day. Similarly, different cancer treatments have been shown to be more effective if they're given at a particular time of day. The sections on specific health problems (such as headaches, peptic ulcers and high blood pressure) are clear and concise; readers can walk away with steps to modify their diet and medicine regimen. Though Smolensky's book contains many digressions into other kinds of body rhythms, such as menstrual cycles, his guide makes a competent introduction to an intriguing new field of health. (June)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Erhard Haus, M.D., Ph.D., Director of Pathology, Regions Hospital; President of American Association for Medical Chronobiology
"This book summarizes for the first time for the general public the most important findings on biological rhythms and health . . ."

Customer Reviews

Disappointing
I bought this book on the strength of its good reviews but was disappointed. It did not deliver the depth of information which I expected. A much better coverage of related issues can be found in Dennet's "Promise of sleep".

Keeping In Time With Your Body
Did you know that the majority of people don't know how to tell time? Body time, that is, and "everybody" includes a lot of doctors and other health professionals. The Body Clock Guide to Better Health explains about your body's personal body rhythms and a new field of medicine called chronomedicine.

Body time matters in almost every phase of your life. It's especially essential in keeping you healthy. The time of day you take your medication can affect how well the medicine works and whether there will be side affects. The time of day you take diagnostic tests - blood tests, urine tests, even your blood pressure, can make a change in what results the test shows.

The study of the body and time has been going on for many years. Way back in 1735, an astronomer in Paris noticed the way a plant responded to morning and night. He wondered if it was the light that caused the responses, and to find out, locked the plant in a dark closet. Much to his surprise, despite the lack of sunlight, the plant still raised its leaves in the morning and lowered them at night. It took many more years to discover just how the system worked.

Are you a lark, an owl or a hummingbird? Smolensky and Lamberg explain just what these three types of body rhythms are and how they affect you and your lifestyle. They suggest you should study your own body rhythms to find out if you are a day or a night person or somewhere in-between.

Your body clock affects not only your physical reactions, but your mental ability as well, and can explain a lot of mood swings. The Body Clock Guide talks about the different stages of sleep from very light sleep to the deep, healing sleep everyone needs. What is REM sleep? You'll find the answer in this book, and also discover just why you need to get adequate sleep and what sleep deprivation does to you.

Chapter Eight takes you through the years from babyhood to the teens and explains the differences for each age group. Babies are already cyclic in their sleep patterns, and tend to sleep more at night than during the day starting on their second day of life. Do you know why teens are like zombies in the morning? The Body Guide explains the changes in sleep needs for these difficult years.

Your body clock and rhythmic cycles affect so many things. Exercise and sports, for instance. Should you exercise in the morning or later in the day? Does your menstrual cycle make a difference? When you exercise and the type of exercise can make a difference on how well or how poorly you sleep. How our bodies handle food is also governed by when we eat, and the food we eat has an influence, again, on how well we sleep.

The Body Guide also covers sexuality and the best times to engage in sex. Want to get pregnant? Keep track of your body's rhythms. Most people know about the hormonal changes in a woman's body as she moves into menopause. But were you aware that men approaching mid-life also experience hormone changes? The Body Guide goes on to discuss how to cope with jet lag and about the use of chronobiology in the workplace to improve working conditions and accommodate those with a different body rhythm or those who have to work shift work.

Healing depends on your own body rhythm. The Body Guide gives a list of illnesses from A (AIDS) to U (Urinary disorders,) and explains when their symptoms are most and least troublesome over the day and when it's best to treat them.

And what is to come? The authors believe that in the twenty-first century, there will be better health through the use of chronotherapy. Computers will facilitate the way we keep track of our body rhythms and the times our bodies exhibit unusual patterns. Further research and education will foster a deeper understanding of chronobiology.

Throughout the book you'll find charts, illustrations and self tests to help you understand chronobiology and your own body rhythms. Also included are diaries to help you keep tabs on your health. For those who want to learn more, the authors have included an extensive list of resources.... I would recommend The Body Guide to Better Health to anyone who wants to learn what makes his or her body tick.

INTRIGUING - HOLDS THE READER'S ATTENTION!
I found this book to be thoroughly amazing from start to finish. From my studies in psychology, it was apparent to me that our lives are composed of patterns. We often awake at the same time and often become tired at the same time each evening, especially if a regulated sleeping pattern is followed. We generally have a schedule, or a certain order, in which we complete tasks when we do arise. Where sit at the dinner table, what time we leave for work and arrive home again, the order in which we dress ourselves, the order in which we perform our household chores, the path we take around the aisles of the supermarket - all these, and many more, comprise the patterns of our lives, and the patterns are unique to each individual person.

This book allows one to develop a personal record monitoring such factors or "patterns" as alertness, pain threshold, hunger, sleeping patterns, etc. Our biological clock tells us when the best time is to perform a number of functions each and every day. Just as some individuals are more productive first thing in the morning others are more productive, particularly creative people, late at night or at 3 a.m. when others are sleeping soundly. Based on chronotherapy, "The Body Clock Guide to Better Health" suggests how to synchronise your health care and internal clock, based on your individualized body rythms. Your heart rate, body temperature and hormone production vary with your personal internal clock. This, in turn, influences such things as the best time to take medication, the easiest time to detect disease and even assists you in determining the ideal time, if their is such a thing as an "ideal" time, to have dental work completed. Generally, there is a time when each individual is more tolerant of pain, so if you are planning to have root canal work, you probably should not have this completed when your tolerance for pain is at its lowest.

The material has clearly been thoroughly researched from a scientific approach and well written by authors who have extensive exerience in their chosen fields. What most impressed me about the book was the "completeness" of the subject matter. The material is in-depth, easy and enjoyable to read, and the content holds your attention from start to finish.