The Body Clock Guide to Better Health: How to Use your Body's Natural Clock to Fight Illness and Achieve Maximum Health (Hardcover)

by Michael Smolensky (Author), Lynne Lamberg (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
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.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 428 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.; 1st edition (June 14, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805056610
• ISBN-13: 978-0805056617
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #729,295 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My 50 year old Body Clock is ticking better!, August 15, 2000

By	M. Mccullar "M. McCullar" (Shaker Heights, OH United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Because angels don't have bodies they don't need to read THE BODY CLOCK GUIDE TO BETTER HEALTH. For the rest of us - because we are human - it is a MUST read. And what a read! The book is just terrific! It must have taken years to summarize all the research about how the body is influenced by time be it hours, days, weeks, season, or years. After introducing the subject, The Body Clock helps the reader figure out if she or he is a lark (morning person) or an owl (night person). It explains what this means for your job, your marriage, and your social relationships. I learned from this book how to use the body's natural rhythms to my advantage and how to modify them if I need to. I found out when is the best time of day for me, personally, to make important decisions. The Body Clock's comprehensive section about insomnia and how to deal with it in all of its various forms is spectacular. The tools are there to figure out exactly what kind of insomnia one has and how to work around it. It also wisely points out when one should see a doctor about the problem. Things I have experienced all my life and never really understood, such as that mid-afternoon drag when I feel like taking a nap, are explained. This book is a how-to-guide for travelers who move between time zones and for those who must do shift work. It has fascinating information about the optimal time of day to consume vitamins and when to avoid coffee. But these are just a sampling. This book has changed the way I live my life, for example when I work out and when I go to sleep at night. On the topic of exercise it corrects out-of-date information with the latest research results. This eye-opening book includes information on why teenagers act the way they do. Often neglected topics relating to aging are considered including male hormones. I am going to buy this book for everyone on my holiday gift list-no kidding! There is something in it for everyone. The last half of the book summarizes what is known about time and every imaginable illness and disease. I believe I will return to The Body Clock to re-read the sections that are relevant for me again and again. This is because there are time related elements for so many health problems. The Body Clock is a book I don't want to loan out because I want it handy to consult when I get a cold or if I develop back pain or any of the other 30 to 40 medical problems assessed, each of which has a chapter of its own. Everything from high blood pressure to nosebleeds, from skin problems to toothache, from gout to heart disease is discussed. If you care about your body, you need this book. The Body Clock is a pleasure to read. Authors Smolensky and Lamberg make complex topics easy to understand because they write clearly and succinctly. They avoid complicated medical terms altogether and for this I am grateful. I don't have a lot of time for reading but this book is efficient - it doesn't waste a minute or a page. It gives enormous value for your time and money investment. It is so interesting that I didn't want it to end! It is a fun book too - and I learned so much. I can't remember a book I have been able to say this about in a long long time. Authors Smolensky and Lamberg - this reader wants to thank you for writing it.

44 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gives a Whole New Meaning to the Phrase "Biological Clock"!, June 8, 2000

By	Joy Olson (Colorado Springs, CO) - See all my reviews

In this era of hightened interest of alternative medicine, therapy, etc., this book presents a logical, if overlooked, method of enhancing your health in a simple, natural, no-cost manner.

While it would be difficult to remember, much less implement, all of the suggestions made here, many make sense and will stick with the reader (no more morning dental appointments for me!).

The authors have done a thorough job in documenting their findings and combining ancient wisdom with modern application. If you are interested in "thinking out of the box" and taking a proactive approach to your own health, this book will be a fascinating read.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars INTRIGUING - HOLDS THE READER'S ATTENTION!, May 28, 2001

By	Sandra D. Peters "Seagull Books" (Prince Edward Island, Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.