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Biorhythm : Biorhythms History

Biorhythm theory originated with research by two doctors in the early 20th century, both working independently of each other. Dr Hermanna Swoboda, a psychologist at the University of Vienna, monitored his patient's emotional moods, dreams and physical symptoms over long periods.

Wilhelm Fleiss, an ear, nose and throat specialist in Berlin was also interested in biological cycles through analysis of his patient's medical records. His knowledge of numerology together with his record analysis led him to the conclusion that the numbers 23 and 28 had significance to many bodily functions. He described the two cycles as 'solar' (masculine) at 23 days and 'lunar' (feminine) at 28 days.

In Biorhythm theory, the 3 main cycles of 23, 28 and 33 days are charted from birth, starting at zero. When illustrated as a graph, the three cycles rise from zero to a high point, descend back to the zero line and then fall correspondingly to a low point and back again to zero. As each cycle is a different length, they intersect each other occasionally. On the days when one or more of the cycles crosses the zero line, it is considered to be a 'critical' day when that particular cyclical functioning is low and the person can be prone to accidents or negative events.