90 Minutes Sleep Cycle

October 15 by | 56 comments | Lifehack, Lifestyle | Tags: ,

In this article, Glen Rhodes talks about the sleep cycle that he tried to use on his sleeping pattern. He now sleeps 3 hours a night and power nap for 90 minutes in the evening. He found out this is far better than getting a 8 hours of sleep. There are some researches behind it. For instance Glen referenced a study from Applied Cognitive Studies:

“Studies show that the length of sleep is not what causes us to be refreshed upon waking. The key factor is the number of complete sleep cycles we enjoy. Each sleep cycle contains five distinct phases, which exhibit different brain- wave patterns. For our purposes, it suffices to say that one sleep cycle lasts an average of 90 minutes: 65 minutes of normal, or non-REM (rapid eye movement), sleep; 20 minutes of REM sleep (in which we dream); and a final 5 minutes of non-REM sleep. The REM sleep phases are shorter during earlier cycles (less than 20 minutes) and longer during later ones (more than 20 minutes). If we were to sleep completely naturally, with no alarm clocks or other sleep disturbances, we would wake up, on the average, after a multiple of 90 minutes–for example, after 4 1/2 hours, 6 hours, 7 1/2 hours, or 9 hours, but not after 7 or 8 hours, which are not multiples of 90 minutes. In the period between cycles we are not actually sleeping: it is a sort of twilight zone from which, if we are not disturbed (by light, cold, a full bladder, noise), we move into another 90-minute cycle. A person who sleeps only four cycles (6 hours) will feel more rested than someone who has slept for 8 to 10 hours but who has not been allowed to complete any one cycle because of being awakened before it was completed…. ”

What do you think? Have you heard or try such method?

The power of the Sleep Cycle – [GlenRhodes.com]

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  • http://community.lifehack.org/blog/69 Jaco

    I read in a place I do not remember now that they are working on (or just proposing) alarm clocks that would detect the phase of your sleep and wake you when it is complete ,thus matching the cycle.

    I still did not read the whole article, but I think that total ammount of sleep still is important.

    I would like to find an explanation on why when you take a nap of 20-30 min sometimes you wake refreshed and others like hell.

    At how much time the cicles begin?. How short a nap can be (not the 90 min to relpace sleep but the common nod-relax one?. Less than 65 minutes to not enter in REM?

    > one sleep cycle lasts an average of 90 minutes: 65 minutes of normal, or non-REM (rapid eye movement), sleep; 20 minutes of REM sleep (in which we dream); and a final 5 minutes of non-REM sleep.

  • http://www.lifehack.org/ Leon

    Good questions. I am in search on more articles on sleeping and please let me know if you all can find anything on it as well.

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  • Deb D

    Can anyone tell me why I am awakening at times at night at the exact same time which is 337, the strange thing is that this is my home address number. Can anyone explain this?
    Thank you in advance

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  • Rahim Bin Selamat

    .

  • Rahim Bin Selamat

    I am very blessed that your sleeping pattern has solved my lack of sleep.I have realised that 8 hours of sleep is not needed,though I seldom got it in the past,has changed my perception towards life.Yes it does refreshes me physically and psychologically after awaking after few sleep cycles.However I still could not wake up as easily before sunrise as to after sunrise(due to my “old” awaking pattern).
    All I can hope is that readers of my article will encourage sleep troubles of yours could be solved like the way Glen Rhodes and me did.I have never feel so postive towards life right now.

  • liz

    i have a sleep problem that occurs infrequently. I feel awake and am aware of my surroundings but I cant open my eyes or move. It lasts for a short period until I finally can open my eyes or ‘wake up properly’. It can be quite scary. I have been told by my mother who also has had this that it is related to stress and is harmless. She was told by a dr that if we are aware of it and know we will wake up, we will always wake up. Then I was told it is somthing to do with irregular heartbeat related to stress or breathing problems while asleep.I wondered was there a name for this or are there other ppl who suffer? I would like to get more info on this. Appreciate any comments/ advice. Thanks

    • Whatevr

      This is sleep paralysis and I’ve had it before as well. I’ve been told a lot of different variations of what causes it but one person stated earlier it’s where the body wants to enter into a sleeping cycle before you’re actually ready so it’s like you and your brain are competing for control. This is one of those opportunities to where you could get to that point of lucid dreaming. I can always tell when it’s coming because you can feel that small sense of euphoria in your brain but you also feel you losing control of your brain. Naturally this is scary since your brain isn’t used to letting anybody else trying to take control while conscious. My sister and my mom have both had this issue.

      My old roommate actually told me he had it too and went fully under once and felt like he was getting picked up and moved over his room.

      I really hope someday I can experience lucid dreaming though.

  • FS

    Liz,
    In my early twenties, I suffered from this scary condition, too. I would wake up and couldn’t move. Sometimes I felt like I couldn’t even breathe. Then I moved to Japan and discovered that my condition was widely recognized as “kanashibari.” It is harmless, may be caused by stress, but has nothing to do with breathing or heart problems.

    BTW, Wikipedia says that “kanashibari” is the same thing as “sleep paralysis”:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysis

  • Mr P
  • Mouse

    It’s called having children.

  • obiggie

    that is indeed sleep paralysis. it’s the same brain state that is commonly associated with alien abduction and ghost sightings. i get it sometimes, usually when i’m stressed out. if you can recognize that you are still asleep, you can usually make yourself wake up. it is scary, though if you don’t know what it is.

  • http://www.googletrend.info Money King

    I would like to try this, I am extremely tired as working from home I lose track of time and have started become extremely tired. I will work 16-18 hours and get maybe 5 hours sleep… i can’t seem to get into a proper cycle, I am glad I stumbled on this.

  • Daniel

    I am not sure if I am getting two phenomena confused, but I read about something called ‘lucid dreaming’ whereby a person can be physically asleep but mentally awake and therefore aware that they are dreaming. They theoretically can then control their dreams.. it is apparently amazing, but fairly difficult to achieve as it requires an ability to be able to realise that you are sleeping without waking yourself up fully. Go wiki ‘lucid dreaming’

    p.s. I get about 6.5 -7 hours of sleep a night (1am to 8am) and feel fine in the morning/next day.

    Although every now and again I will need to catch up, by passing out in the early evening (approx 8pm) in front of the TV

  • David

    As I recall, the sleep cycle varies from about 90 to 60 minutes. Different people have different lengths of cycles (and I suppose stages as well).
    If you sleep for multiple cycles, the successive cycles become shorter, and as is mentioned, you have longer REM stages.
    REM sleep may be when your brain does a “memory dump,” or something along those lines. At any rate, REM sleep is important for your neural development, which is part of why older people need less of it.
    I suspect that it would be important to have more REM sleep than would occur if one were to follow the suggested sleeping pattern.

  • A. Narcoleptic

    Sleep paralysis is a rare phenomenon for the average person. Most may never experience it. However, if you are excessively sleepy during the daytime to the point where a non-sleepy day is rare, you may look into narcolepsy. It is not as it is portrayed on TV and in the movies and is often mis and undiagnosed. Often for decades. It also has a genetic component and tends to run in families. Your mother may not be the best one to dismiss sleep problems as “normal”. It is commonly misdiagnosed as depression, ADD, and even epilepsy. People with narcolepsy fall asleep in just a few minutes and enter REM sleep almost immediately, skipping over the more restorative phases of sleep and leading them to be constantly sleep deprived. It is a physiological problem and not a mental condition. Japan has a higher rate of narcolepsy than the rest of the world which may explain why they have a greater awareness of sleep paralysis. Lastly, if you are having troubles breathing while asleep, you may have sleep apnea, a much more common problem. It also causes a disturbances in your sleeping and can cause fatigue. Look into these conditions and if they seem to hit a little too close to home then you might want to talk to a Dr. about scheduling a sleep study with a M.S.L.T. which can diagnose both the apnea and the narcolepsy.

  • riff

    I’ve been a chronic insomniac for 20 years. Oddly, I sleep about 90 mins, get up for an hour or so and repeat.

    I almost never have more than 3 hrs sleep a night. I find that the rare times when I sleep longer, I end up feeling badly the next day. Tired, dragged out and sick.

    I seem to function better with less sleep.

  • cole

    my science teacher told us about this last school year and i started using it, sleeping 6 hours a night, and i definitely think i felt much more rested than when i used to sleep randomly and just try to get as much sleep as possible.

  • Isaac VanDuyn

    Seems to work for me. I’ve switched from a steady 8 hours of sleep to 6 every night, and feel much more awake all the time. The only thing that gets me now is that I don’t like waking up when it’s pitch dark out…

  • brandon

    http://www.helpguide.org/life/sleeping.htm

    this is a great link i found that shows the sleep cycles. not quite 90 minutes. they get shorter the more cycles you complete. looks like the best amount to sleep is 5 or 6 hours.

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  • http://www.myspace.com/wehauntyou djhomunculus

    Sleep deprivation is outstanding way to get ahead. Exercise, water, and healthy eats are very important. I can go three days without sleep, then power nap in between appointments. Also, the hot and cold shower shock. If you are looking for research I suggest military documents. I am not down with any military, but they have done extensive research on the subject.

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  • L

    How does reducing the amount of time you sleep effect metabolism?

  • http://sleepfixes.com Fall Asleep Quickly

    I can’t seem to find the study on their website. Any idea where I can find the original article?

  • mirko

    Who is Glen Rhodes?

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  • WallbrownF

    I have not tried this, but it sounds plausible because I have read other things that confirm a sleep cycle being 90 minutes.

  • debowski

    Is it possible to follow a 3 hour nap w/ 90 power nap during the weekdays and switch to the 6 hour nap on the weekend?

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  • Stevenjennie

    I actually did a research paper on this for psychology class and had 20 study participants. I had them keep track of when they woke up during the night and how long they had been asleep before waking up, either during the night or in the morning and of ow they felt when they woke up. Without telling them what I was looking for, they averaged 85 to 92 minute sleep cycles, and reported feeling better if they had slept any multiple of 90 minute cycles, but felt groggy if they had slept more or less. I’ve been doing this for years…..6 or 7 1/2 hours for me. If I know I’m going to get less than that, I’ll go for 4 1/2 hours rather than 5. Try it .

  • http://jdsportsonline.com JDSports

    As for sleep cycles, Polyphasic sleeper seem to stand the notion of sleep on it’s head. My personal achievements are averaging 3 hours and 24 minutes of sleep a night for the month of February and for March I am shooting for under 3 hours a day. The month is almost done and it will be close as to whether I will achieve this goal. To follow my daily log: http://jdsportsonline.com/projects/polyphasic/polyphasic-sleep.html

  • Akovi

    Besides this 90 minute sleep cycle, written about in Scientific American, a different longevity study, also from Scientific American, found that people who sleep between 4½ and 7½ hours a night live longer than people who sleep more or less than this… I’ve always found longevity to be a good indicator of good habits or right living. I’m somewhat surprised about how few medical doctors know about either of these studies…

    • http://twitter.com/SleeplessNoMore Elizabeth Shannon

      Hi Akovi

      Would you mind pointing me to these two research sources? … so I find the right ones that you are talking about..

      Thanks, I’m very interested to follow up with more information from Scientific American.
      Kind regards
      Elizabeth Shannon

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  • Leif

    I find 90 minutes naps to be so effective that I developed tri-phasic sleeping, consisting a 90 minute nap three times per day. I have a nap in the evening, in the morning and in the afternoon. I talk about it fairly extensively on my blog, http://origamikayak.blogspot.com/

  • Leif

    I find 90 minutes naps to be so effective that I developed tri-phasic sleeping, consisting a 90 minute nap three times per day. I have a nap in the evening, in the morning and in the afternoon. I talk about it fairly extensively on my blog, http://origamikayak.blogspot.com/

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  • [email protected]

    This is true based on my personal sleeping experiences. I sleep on average 9 hours however my sleep is often interrupted early in the morning with my cell phone ringing. I find that although I get a high number of sleeping hours, I feel very untested throughout the day, as opposed to waking up naturally once my sleep cycle is completed. It is especially worse when I am awakened before a dream is over; it feels almost as is the sleep cycle is in tune with the dream. I feel disoriented the rest of the day even though I have slept longer than most people.
    So yes, I agree that it’s not the quantity of sleep, but the quality that counts (as cliche as that sounds it’s true!)

  • ThoyaDernrail

    This explains a lot. I usually sleep for 3 hours at a time, and I feel perfectly fine.

  • http://twitter.com/SleeplessNoMore Elizabeth Shannon

    I recently found a great book that you might enjoy “Take a Nap, Change Your Life” by Dr Sara Mednick.  We don’t personally advocate trying to minimize your sleep (and yes, I know people like experimenting with it…), but if you want to learn about maximizing napping and your sleep – this is a really good book.  With some surprising results – that go against the normal “don’t nap if you have insomnia” banter.  And yes, I know of people who pick their go-to-bed time in 90 minute slots before their best wake-up times to get their best night’s sleep and wake up refreshed.  Great discussion here, thanks

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