The Social Rhythm Metric An Instrument to Quantify the Daily Rhythms of Life

Abstract

The Social Rhythm Metric (SRM) is an instrument designed to quantify an individual's daily social rhythms. Social rhythms are important both as a way of structuring the day cognitively and as time cues (or zeitgebers) that drive the biological clock (circadian system). The development of the SRM and its pilot testing in 50 healthy control subjects is described, along with measurements of reliability and validity. The potential of the SRM for integrating psychosocial and biological research and its clinical applicability are discussed.