Chronotherapy

Based on decades of research, Chronotherapy shows you how to harness the power of light to reset your natural clock and boost your mood, be more alert, and get a good night's sleep.

A good night's sleep can be hard to get. Sleep problems and depressed mood often go hand in hand, forming a frustrating cycle. Only now are we beginning to understand the way these problems are based in the working of the brain's inner clock, through the science of chronobiology—the study of circadian rhythms and their regulation by light and darkness. For the first time, Michael Terman, PhD, director of the Center for Light Treatment and Biological Rhythms at Columbia University Medical Center and a leading expert in chronobiology and chronotherapy, shares his scientific insights and treatments that have helped thousands of sleep sufferers find relief.

Like all our cousins in the animal kingdom, we have an internal timing system that is exquisitely sensitive to the pattern and brightness of the light we are exposed to. Contemporary life, however, often deprives our clock of the daily signals it relies on. As a result, our bodies are easily thrown into conflict with daily work and family requirements, causing major sleep disruptions that affect our mood and productivity. The list of problems includes depression, insomnia, seasonal affective disorder, jet lag, shift work disturbance, adolescent sleep loss, and more.

Chronotherapy offers an authoritative, clinically informed way to understand and break the frustrating cycle of clock-based sleep disorders. Dr. Terman, along with Ian McMahan, PhD, an expert in developmental psychology, explains the science behind chronobiology and lays out the full range of rhythm-shifting strategies, including the proper use of light therapy, structured exposure to darkness, bedroom dawn and dusk simulation, melatonin supplements, and sleep scheduling, to bring you the kind of sleep your body needs.