A Brief History Of Biorhythms

Between 1897 and 1902 Dr. Hermann Swoboda of the University of Vienna undertook research into the possibility of a rhythmic change in mood and health. He charted peoples' reaction to pain, outbreak of fevers, illnesses, asthma, heart attacks, and recurrent dreams. He found that there was a 23 day physical cycle and a 28 day emotional cycle. Unknown to him, synchronistically, in Berlin, Dr. Wilhelm Fleiss was also researching the occurrences of fevers, recurrent illnesses and deaths in his patients. He too came to the conclusion that there was a 23 and a 28 day rhythm.

Wilhelm Fleiss, who was Sigmund Freud's doctor and his close friend, engaged in an extensive dialogue and correspondence with Freud on these 23 and 28 day rhythms. Fleiss's theories were of great interest and importance to Freud during his early work in developing his psychoanalytic concepts.

The 33 day intellectual cycle was discovered by Alfred Teltscher of Innsbruck, Austria. He was a teacher of engineering. He observed that his students' good days and bad days followed a rhythmic pattern of 33 days. Teltscher found that the brain's ability to absorb, manipulate and express new ideas -- our mental ability and alertness, ran in this 33 day cycle.

The three biorhythms and their combinations have been studied and used all over the world, especially in Germany, Japan, and the United States. There is no question that these rhythms set the mood and tone of our daily lives. With today's computer technology we can instantly know where our biorhythms are and adjust our lives accordingly.

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Last Updated: 2/14/2002