• What Chronomedicine Means to You
• How This Book Can Help You
• What Doctors Don't Know About Health & Body Time
• What Do You Know About Health & Body Time?
• Same Dose of Medicine Sometimes "Too Much" or "Too Little"
• Monthly Rhythms May Alter Symptoms, Too
• Ancient Cultures Recognized Body Time

• Constancy Is an Illusion
• Constancy and Change Co-Exist in the Body
• Half-Century of Studies Show That Body Time Matters
• Most Drug Testing Ignores Time of Day
• New Drug Design Exploits Body Rhythms
• Chronomedicine Fosters Research on Gender
• Chronomedicine: It's Not a "Some Day" Science

• Science Prompts "The Buzz"
• No Sun Worshippers Here
• Cinderella Has a Message for You
• Seminal Discovery Set Off No Fireworks

• How Your Brain's Brain Does Its Job
• Search for Master Clock Spanned Decades
• A Rare Hamster Opens New Doors
• Light Signals Set the Clock
• Why You Need a Nightlight
• Melatonin Is the Hormone of Darkness, Not of Sleep
• Time Melatonin Is Taken Governs Its Impact
• Be a Scientist: Study Your Own Body Rhythms

• What Type of Bird Are You?
• Punch Your Own Time Clock
• Can Larks and Owls Happily Share a Nest?
• Lark/Owl Traits Affect Family Life
• Are Larks Healthier and Wealthier?
• Timewise Tips
• Summing Up

• Science Yields New Spin on "Best Times"
• Effort Determines Mental Performance
• Testing Is Tricky
• Memory Skills Change Over the Day
• Don't Let the Post-Lunch Dip Get You Down
• Moods Change Over the Day
• Timewise Tips

• How Much Sleep Do People Need?
• Sleepless in Seattle, New York, and Your Town, Too
• Learn How to Unlock Your Personal Sleep "Gates"
• What Happens When We Sleep?
• Put Your Internal Alarm Clock to Work
• How Do People Cope With Extreme Sleep Loss?
• Why We Must Sleep
• Timewise Tips for Good Sleep

• Babies
• Ages One through Six
• Ages Seven Through Twelve
• Ages Thirteen to Nineteen

• Teenagers Lead Busy Lives
• More Sleep Brings Better Grades
• Minnesota Starts Classes Later, Launches Study
• Timewise Tips for Teenagers
• Timewise Tips for Parents

• Media Coverage Sets Competition Times
• What Times are Best for Sports Performance?
• Menstrual Cycle May Alter Sports Performance
• Home Field Advantage Includes "Home Time" Advantage
• Jet Lag Undermines Sports Performance
• Does Exercise Help or Harm Sleep?
• Is It Okay to Exercise Near Bedtime?
• Exercise May Help Troubled Sleepers Most
• Timewise Tips If You Have a Chronic Illness
• What's the Best Time for Gym Class?
• Timewise Tips

• Three Meals a Day by Nature's Design
• Regular Mealtimes Increase With Age
• Fasting in Ramadan Alters Many Daily Rhythms
• Regular Meals May Keep Other Rhythms in Line
• What We Eat

• Breakfast: Energy
• Lunch: Sustained Alertness
• Dinner: Relaxation
• Bedtime Snack

• How Much We Eat

• Americans Eat Too Much and Exercise Too Little

• How Our Bodies Handle Food

• To Lose Weight, Eat Breakfast
• Snacking Does Not Spoil Your Appetite

• How Foods Affect Mind and Mood

• Caffeine Is a Stimulant
• Alcohol Is a Depressant
• Sugar Has Short-Lived Effects
• Is There a Best Time to Take Vitamins and Minerals?
• Timewise Tips
• Anytime Tips

Sexuality

• Best Time of Day
• Most Popular Day of the Week
• Preferred Time of Month
• Most Active Time of Year

Menstrual Cycle

• Typical Menstrual Cycle Has Its Own Rhythms
• Light Exposure May Regularize Cycles
• Why Close Friends Often Menstruate at the Same Time

Pregnancy

• Can You Choose to Have a Boy or Girl?
• Pregnancy Disrupts Sleep
• Timewise Tips to Improve Sleep If You Are Pregnant
• Night Time Is Prime Time for Births

Perimenopause & Menopause

• What Causes Hot Flashes?
• Drop in Estrogen Affects Many Bodily Functions
• Timewise Tips for Menopausal Women

Hormone Rhythms in Men

Male Mid-Life Changes

• What Treatment Is Available?
• Erectile Dysfunction Now Out of the Closet
• Timewise Tips for Men with Erectile Dysfunction

• Jet Lag Is a Modern Malady
• Daytime Symptoms Bother Travelers Most
• Travel Fatigue Makes Jet Lag Worse
• Culture Shock Doesn't Cause Jet Lag
• Flying East Is Harder Than Flying West
• North/South Flights Don't Cause Jet Lag
• Why You Sleep Poorly
• When Can Sleeping Pills Help?
• We All March to Different Drummers
• Bright Light May Speed Clock Resetting
• Can Melatonin Prevent Jet Lag?
• Does the Jet Lag Diet Work?
• Plan Your Visit to the Timeful Hotel
• Timewise Tips
• Summing Up

• Out-of-Date Schedules Foster Driver Fatigue
• Poor Schedules Blamed for Major Industrial Catastrophes
• One in Five Americans Works Evenings or Nights
• Types of Schedules Vary Widely
• Why Shift Workers Rarely Adapt
• How Out-Of-Kilter Clocks Harm Workers' Health
• Sleep and Digestive Problems Bother Shift Workers Most
• Female Shift Workers Face Added Health Problems
• Does Shift Work Shorten Your Life?
• Some Chrono "Types" Manage Shift Work Better
• Forward Rotations Easier on Body
• Best Speed of Rotation Still Debated
• Bright Light May Speed Clock Resetting
• Can Melatonin Help Shift Workers?
• Lawsuits May Force Workplace Changes
• Timewise Tips for Employers
• Timewise Tips for Employees
• Summing Up

• Keep Your Own Chronorecord
• Educate Your Doctor
• You Need the Right Medicine at the Right Time
• Best Time to Take Most Medicines Not Known
• Finding Best Time Proves Daunting Task
• Some Chronotherapies Already Available

• Fatigue Dampens Quality of Life
• Sleep Disturbances Occur Early in HIV-Infection
• HIV-infection Changes Immune and Hormone Rhythms
• More Research Needed on Medication Timing
• Timewise Tips
• Anytime Tips

• Osteoarthritis (OA)
• Take Your Medicine Before Pain Usually Starts
• Timewise Tips for OA
• Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)
• Take Medicine at Night to Prevent Morning Pain
• Timewise Tips for RA
• Anytime Tips

• Asthma Has Many Triggers
• Why Asthma Peaks at Night
• Physicians Still in the Dark on Nighttime Pattern
• Attacks Vary Over Menstrual Cycle
• Attacks Vary By Season
• Better Results, Fewer Side Effects with Timed Dosing
• Timewise Tips
• Anytime Tips

• Back Pain: A Glitch in Human Design
• Osteoarthritis Causes Most Back Pain
• Morning Back Pain Linked With Rare Condition
• Take Your Medicine Before Pain Usually Starts
• Timewise Tips
• Anytime Tips

• Cancer Cells Multiply Too Fast
• Anticancer Drugs Kill Both Cancer Cells and Normal Cells
• How Timed Medication Dosing Works
• Rhythms Affect Breast Cancer Detection
• Does the Time of Breast Cancer Surgery Affect Survival?
• Does the Time of Radiation Therapy Make a Difference?
• Timewise Tips

• Cause of Colds No Mystery
• Medications Can Ease Cold Symptoms
• Medications Can Ease Flu Symptoms
• Try to Get Your Flu Shot in the Morning
• Timewise Tips
• Anytime Tips

• Timewise Tips
• Anytime Tips

• Bowel Activity is Cyclic
• What Causes Constipation?
• Get More Fiber, More Fluids, Eat Regular Meals
• Timewise Tips
• Anytime Tips

• What Goes Wrong in Diabetes?
• Daily Rhythms Alter Blood Sugar Control
• Menstrual Cycle Affects Diabetes
• Diabetes May Be Harder to Manage in Winter
• Timed Dosing of Insulin Improves Control of Type I Diabetes
• Diet, Exercise, Drugs, Improve Type II Diabetes
• Timewise Tips
• Anytime Tips

• What Goes Wrong in Epilepsy?
• Sex Hormones Alter Epilepsy in Women
• Sex Hormones May Alter Epilepsy in Men, Too
• Sleep Laboratory Studies Aid Diagnosis and Treatment
• Time of Dosing May Alter Efficacy of Antiepilepsy Drugs
• Timewise Tips

• Body Clocks May Be Out of Sync in FM
• Timewise Tips
• Anytime Tips

• Timewise Tips

• Timewise Tips

• Timewise Tips

• What Causes Hay Fever?
• Why Are Symptoms Worst in the Morning?
• T-i-m-e Spells Relief
• Timewise Tips

• Migraines
• Menstrual Migraines
• Cluster Headaches
• Tension Headaches
• Sex and Headaches
• The Exploding Head Syndrome
• Timing May Be Tip-Off to Diagnosis
• Old & New Medications Ease Headaches
• Timewise Tips
• Timewise Tips for Women with Migraines
• Timewise Tips If You Have Cluster Headaches
• Anytime Tips

• Take Medication in the Evening for Nighttime Symptoms
• Timewise Tips
• Anytime Tips

• Heart Attacks Peak in Morning
• What Makes Mornings Risky?
• Angina (Chest Pain) Peaks in Morning
• Heart Attacks Jump on Mondays
• Heart Attacks Surge in Winter
• Is Morning Exercise Safe?
• When Is Sex Safest?
• Chronotherapy Can Help Prevent Heart Disease
• Chronotherapy Can Help Treat Heart Disease
• Timewise Tips
• Anytime Tips

• How Blood Pressure Works
• 3 in 10 Americans with High Blood Pressure Don't Know It
• Causes of High BP Still Unknown
• What the Numbers Mean
• How Time of Day Alters BP
• Monthly and Yearly Rhythms May Alter BP
• Discover Your Daily Cycle
• Daily BP Patterns Predict Health Risks
• Chrono Success Stories: Preventing Blindness, Helping Babies
• Medications for High BP: What Time is Best?
• Using Chronobiology to Design Better Drugs
• Timewise Tips
• Anytime Tips

• Seasonal Affective Disorder
• Bulimia Nervosa
• Major Depression
• Bipolar Disorder
• Pregnancy-Related Depression
• Timewise Tips

• Daily Symptoms Often Tied to Body Temperature
• Fatigue Disturbing But Invisible
• Attacks May Be Tied to Cyclic Hormones
• Attacks May Vary Seasonally
• Variety of Medicines Requires Attention to Timing
• Timewise Tips
• Anytime Tips

• Timewise Tips

• Bone Up on Life Cycle Changes
• Why Old Bones Ain't Going to Rise Again
• Got Milk?
• What Is the Right Time to Take Calcium?
• New Prescription Medicine May Slow Bone Loss
• Timewise Tips
• Anytime Tips

• Setting the Scene for Peptic Ulcers
• Evening Dose of Acid-Suppressing Medicines Works Best
• Bleeding Ulcers Show Rhythmic Patterns
• Timewise Tips
• Anytime Tips

• Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder
• What Causes PMS?
• What Is Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder?
• What Treatments Help Most?
• Timewise Tips

• Circadian Pattern May Be Key Diagnostic Clue
• Periodic Limb Movements Add to Distress
• Who Gets RLS?
• Treatment Targets Daily Symptom Pattern
• Timewise Tips
• Anytime Tips

• Many Skin Disorders Follow Cyclic Patterns
• Skin Eruptions Mirror Menstrual Cycle
• Rhythms Affect Diagnostic Test Accuracy
• Cosmetics' Industry Embraces Body Rhythms
• Some Skin Creams Work Best in Afternoon
• Timewise Tips

• "I Can't Turn Off My Mind at Bedtime."
• "I Toss and Turn All Night"
• "I Fall Asleep Too Late."
• "I Fall Asleep Too Early."
• "I Have Frequent Bouts of Troubled Sleep."
• "I Sleep in Snatches All Day Long."
• When Can Sleeping Pills Help?
• Timewise Tips on Using Bright Light
• Timewise Tips on Using Melatonin

• What Makes Mornings Risky?
• Get Treatment Promptly if You Suspect a Stroke
• Timewise Tips
• Anytime Tips

• What Makes Early Morning Hours Risky?
• "Back to Sleep" Campaign Lowers SIDS Deaths
• How Risky is Bedsharing?
• Specter of Child Abuse Complicates SIDS Investigations
• Timewise Tips
• Anytime Tips

• Tooth Nerve Sensitivity Highest at Night
• Local Anesthetics Last Longest in the Afternoon
• Post-Surgical Pain Is Worst Near Dawn
• Aspirin Works Better for Dental Pain in the Morning
• Timewise Tips

• Bedwetting Usually Stops by Age Five
• What Causes Bedwetting in Children?
• Psychological Distress Is Common
• Timewise Tips for Parents
• Age and Illness Chief Factors in Adult Nocturia
• Behavioral Treatment and Medications Can Help
• Timewise Tips for Adults

• Computers Foster Chronotherapy
• Everyone Will "Think Chrono"
• We Need More Chrono Education

Abbreviations Used in This Book

Resources for Further Information

Acknowledgments

Index

Charts, Illustrations, and Self-Tests     

• What Do You Know about Health & Body Time?     
• The Best of Times    
• Owl/Lark Self-Test    
• How Owls and Larks Differ    
• A Normal Night's Sleep    
• Menstrual Cycle Clock    
• Most Annoying Jet Lag Symptoms    
• Six Time Zones East Jet Lag Coping Guide    
• The Worst of Times    
• Health Around the Year   
• Is Fatigue a Problem for You? 

Diaries

• Pain Diary    
• Breathing Diary    
• Headache Diary    
• Blood Pressure Diary    
• Fatigue Diary    
• Menstrual Cycle Diary    
• Sleep/Wake Diary    
• Urination Diary