The ancient Greek doctor Hippocrates said, “a physician without knowledge of astrology has no right to call himself a physician.” Believers in astrology have been around for thousands of years. They looked to the position of the sun and planets to understand our health, our personalities, and to make predictions about the future.
Today you will still find horoscopes giving advice on romance and finance in newspapers across the U.S. Yet most people read them just for kicks. Less than 26% of people in the U.S. believe in astrology, which is less than the number of people who believe in UFOs. It seems crazy to think that the day we were born has any effect on who we are. But, recent research is starting to shed some light on this belief.
Studies have shown a connection between your birthday and higher risks of 24 medical disorders. These include schizophrenia, diabetes, and allergies.
People born in the Northern Hemisphere during the months of October, November, and December have a higher risk of developing schizophrenia. Interestingly, these risks are reversed if you were born in the Southern Hemisphere. There, people born in the months of April, May, and June have a higher risk of developing schizophrenia. Scientists are not sure why this is. Some are guessing that it could be connected to the decreased hours of sunlight during the winter season.
The amount of sunlight we get each day affects our production of Vitamin D and our circadian clock. The circadian clock is our inner timer that tells us when to wake and sleep. It can also mess with our metabolism and our neurochemicals. It’s possible that the way in which our circadian clock is first set at the time of our birth has far-reaching effects on our health throughout our life.
Researchers have also found links between our total lifespan and times of birth. Centenarians are more likely to have been born in autumn. No one has a clue why this is either, but some people are guessing that it may be connected to nutrition. People today are able to get enough nutrients year-round, but this wasn’t always true. Today’s centenarians were born in the early 20th century. This was a time when the availability of a wide variety of nutritious foods was directly connected to the seasons.
Astrology might not be the best guide for the modern world. But, it’s fascinating to think that the time and space of our entry into the world can play a part in who we are.
References:
https://www.pnas.org/content/98/5/2934.full
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/11/your-zodiac-sign-your-health/281358/#comments
Hippocrates was an ancient Greek doctor. He said, “a physician without knowledge of astrology has no right to call himself a physician.” Believers in astrology have been around for thousands of years. They looked at the sun and planets to understand our health and our personalities. They also made predictions about the future.
Today we see horoscopes giving advice on love and money in newspapers. Yet most people read them just for kicks. Less than 26% of people in the U.S. believe in astrology. This is less than the number of people who believe in UFOs. It seems crazy to think that the day we were born has any effect on who we are. But, recent research is starting to shed some light on this belief.
Studies have shown a link between your birthday and higher risks of 24 medical problems. People born in October, November and December have a higher risk of developing schizophrenia. Scientists are not sure why this is. Some think that it is because there are fewer hours of sunlight during the winter season.
The sunlight we get each day affects our production of Vitamin D and our circadian clock. The circadian clock is our inner timer that tells us when to wake and sleep. It can also mess with our metabolism and our brain. Our circadian clock is set at the time of our birth. This could have serious effects on our health throughout our life.
Researchers have also found connections between how long we live and times of birth. Centenarians are more likely to have been born in autumn. No one has a clue why this is either, but some people think it may be connected to food. People today are able to get enough healthy food year-round, but this wasn’t always true. Today’s centenarians were born in the early 20th century. This was a time the amount of healthy food available was directly connected to the seasons. In winter and spring there was less. But, in summer and fall there was more.
Astrology might not be the best guide for the modern world. But, it’s fascinating to think that the time and space of our birth can play a part in who we are.
References:
https://www.pnas.org/content/98/5/2934.full
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/11/your-zodiac-sign-your-health/281358/#comments
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