Biorhythms & Homeopathy How Time Patterns Can Help In Treatment

Chronotherapy is the use of circadian or other biorhythmic cycles in conventional medicine, where time, or timing, holds the key. Homeopathy has, for long, used this seminal idea. Its therapeutic expression stimulates the bodys own vital force the seat of biorhythms and, the body defence system to work towards healing the overall psyche, while bringing about harmonious balance to the individual at three levels physical, mental, and emotional.

- Dr Rajgopal Nidamboor

Our sleep-wake cycle and full day-night functions are regulated by a smart, resident inner bio-clock that drives us all. What propels our bio-clock has mesmerised generations — right from the days of philosopher-scientist Aristotle. Yes, the working of the bio-clock is apparent not only through the process of our sleep-wake cycle, but also the regulation of body temperature, tolerance to pain, hormone levels, response to drugs, or medications, besides a variety of emotional deviations, such as depression, at the time of new and full moon nights. These biological rhythms represent changes that systematically recur in us — they include the daily ebb and surge of biochemical levels in the blood and reproductive cycles, among others. Research corroborates that every physiological or functional aspect of our bio-clock rises and falls with computerised regularity, or precision. Such bio-rhythms, as they are also called, represent a perfect, delicate balance. So much so, a bio-clock that goes kaput can trigger, or lead to, a host of health deviations, or disorders.

BEYOND THE RHYTHM

The frequency of our bio-rhythms relates to the duration of one complete cycle, or the number of cycles per time unit. There are three primary types of rhythms — viz., ultradian, infradian and circadian. The first ‘cadence’ encompasses of periods less than 24 hours — e.g., cardiac and breathing cycles. The infradian rhythms include our reproductive cycle, extending longer than 24 hours. Circadian rhythms, such as the sleep-wake cycle, have approximately a 24-hour cycle. The study of these biological rhythms is called chronobiology.