Meaning & use
chronotherapy
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountablemedicaltechnical
A medical approach that schedules treatments, light, or activity to match the body's natural daily rhythms.
Grammar: Used without a plural; say 'a form of chronotherapy' if you need to count it.
Patterns
- chronotherapy for a condition
- undergo chronotherapy
- the timing of chronotherapy
Doctors used chronotherapy, giving the drug at night when the tumor was most active.
Chronotherapy for depression may involve carefully timed exposure to bright light.
The clinic offers chronotherapy to help shift workers adjust their sleep.
noununcountablemedical
The practice of timing light exposure or sleep to reset a person's internal clock.
Grammar: Often followed by 'for' plus the problem being treated, as in 'chronotherapy for jet lag'.
Patterns
- chronotherapy for jet lag
- use chronotherapy to reset the body clock
Travelers sometimes try chronotherapy, using morning light to reset their body clocks.
The sleep specialist recommended chronotherapy rather than sleeping pills.
Chronotherapy can help teenagers whose natural sleep cycle runs late.
Common combinations
- chronotherapy for cancer
- Chronotherapy for cancer aims to give drugs when healthy cells are least vulnerable.
- light-based chronotherapy
- Light-based chronotherapy is used to treat seasonal affective disorder.
- undergo chronotherapy
- Patients may undergo chronotherapy for several weeks before their sleep improves.
- circadian chronotherapy
- Circadian chronotherapy aligns treatment with the 24-hour biological cycle.
Synonyms and how they differ
- chronobiology
- This is the study of biological rhythms, not a treatment; chronotherapy applies that knowledge to medical care.
- sleep therapy
- A broader term for treatments that improve sleep; chronotherapy specifically uses timing to reset rhythms.
Word family
- chronotherapeutic adjective
- Relating to chronotherapy, as in 'chronotherapeutic dosing'.
- chronobiologist noun
- A scientist who studies biological rhythms.
- chronobiology noun
- The study of how time affects living things.
Commonly confused: chronotherapy or chemotherapy? chronotherapy or chronometry?
chronotherapy vs chemotherapy
Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill cancer cells; chronotherapy is about the timing of any treatment, including drugs or light.
chronotherapy vs chronometry
Chronometry is the science of measuring time precisely; chronotherapy is a medical treatment.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'chronotherapy' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Chronotherapy is a treatment timed to biological rhythms, so it fits the sentence about adjusting a body clock. The other options confuse it with car repair, calendar study, or a clock.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “chronotherapy”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.