Is there Scientific Evidence of Biorhythms?

[leachim]

TL;DR

Are there any scientific measurements of biorhythms

Biorhythms have been "known" about for many decades

There are 3 rhythms - 23, 28 and 33 day cycles - physical, emotional and mental respectively.

biorhythms pic

These must have been calculated using observation of human qualities and noting them down

My question is - are there any external forces which govern these cycles which can be measured scientifically.

It must be governed by possibly earth, moon or sun as these cycles do not deviate from whole days ??

Do any of these bodies have long term waves or emanations that have been measured

Or maybe it is based on a collective human brain frequency pulsing - but that is getting a bit woo woo !

Any suggestions appreciated !

 

[BillTre]

Summary:: Are there any scientific measurements of biorhythms

Biorhythms have been "known" about for many decades

There are 3 rhythms - 23, 28 and 33 day cycles - physical, emotional and mental respectively.

biorhythms pic

You should provide references for where your information came from and some examples of each rhythm.
I have no idea what the second two periods refer to.

Biorhythms is a very broad category. It include circadian rhythms (~24 hour daily, day night rhythms), monthly or other physiological periods, any rhythmic movements of contractions (which can by of almost any period length), relatively quick rhythms in the nervous system.

Your 23 hour period probably corresponds the circadian rhythm, which free cycles to about 23 hours when removed from daily environmental sensory inputs. There are lots of experiments on this.
Daily inputs (daily sunlight inputs resets circadian rhythms to keep them in sync with daily environmental cycles).

Rhythms have been studied in many different animals, plants fungi, and bacteria, as well as humans.
Some mutations in some animals can effect more than one kind of rhythm like circadian and GI rhythms, so some of these different kinds of rhythms may use the same molecular components.
Mutations have been found in insects, worms, and mammals that I know of, and probably other species.

Circadian rhythms in single cell organisms are based on a chemical cycle in individual cells.
In vertebrate animals, circadian rhythms involve a combination of the pineal, the suprachiasmatic nucleus, retinal inputs and superior cervical ganglion. These neural structures interact to reinforce their ~24 rhythm. In different animals, sensory inputs from different structures are used to keep the animals rhythms in sync with their environment, in different animals.

Changes in the length of day (or conversely, night) over the period of a season can be noticed physiologically by animals (and I am guessing plants) so they can adapt to the different needs of various seasons. Shorter days --> fall/winter coming, longer days --> spring/summer coming.
There may be moon effects I am not aware of (full moon, more light at night).

Longer cycles:
Other than syncing with general environmental variables like day length, syncing within populations may happen through pheromones so that menstruating females are synchromized.
Similar pheromonal interactions may act to synchronize male sexual activity with female receptiveness (talking animals, not humans here).

 

[leachim]

OK

It is 23 days, not hours

Some research here:
See page 9 for conclusion

These 23, 28 & 33 days are fixed and not variable

 

[Vanadium 50]

I have no idea what the second two periods refer to.

1970's vintage psuedoscience.

 

[Andy Resnick]

Summary:: Are there any scientific measurements of biorhythms

There is quite a large body of research on biological rhythms (including circadian rhythms) and the role of time in biological processes:

Winfree's book is fantastic: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-4757-3484-3

Kumar's book is good as well: https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783540428534

 

[leachim]

Looks good !

Although I am trying to find out specifically about whether 23, 28 and 33 day cycles have or has been measured in some form from anywhere.

Although most people will deny the existence of this, I am a firm believer in the existence of the rhythms after researching it for 20 years, but would love to find some scientific measurements from somewhere - I may have to wait a long time...

 

[jim mcnamara]

Longer than you thought, perhaps. Thread closed. PF does not support speculation or unsupported claims.