Ian McMahan

IAN McMAHAN has followed two simultaneous career paths. As a developmental psychologist, he has written in major academic journals about his research on children’s achievement. He won the James McKeen Cattell Prize, awarded by the New York Academy of Sciences, and is now Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Brooklyn College, City University of New York. As an author, he has written fiction and nonfiction for both adults and children. His books range from children’s mysteries to historical novels, and include Get it Done!, a guide to improving motivation and personal efficiency, and a history of Ancient Egypt, Secrets of the Pharaohs. His dual careers came together recently with the university-level textbook, Adolescence, published by Allyn & Bacon. McMahan is the co-author, with Michael Terman of Columbia University Medical Center, of the newly-published CHRONOTHERAPY: Resetting Your Inner Clock to Boost Mood, Alertness, and Quality Sleep. This book gives readers a clear, authoritative, and scientifically grounded account of chronobiology, the science that explores the role of light and the circadian clock in our daily lives. Beyond that, it shows how understanding this science, and acting on our understanding, can change our lives for the better by helping us improve our mood, energy level, and sleeping pattern. It lays out what we know about the particular circadian problems that may affect children, adolescents, and the aged, and puts forth specific ways these problems can be dealt with. People with depression, bipolar and sleep disorders, shift work problems, or jet lag recount their experiences with chronotherapy in their own words. Stepping into the future, this book suggests how the insights of chronobiology can help shape tomorrow's work schedules, education systems, and architectural practices to better our lives.