Following up on the post 90 Minutes Sleep Cycle, I found out there are couple of sites and resources that talk about this sleeping hack. Technically, it is called Polyphasic Sleep. From Wikipedia, the definition is:
… Polyphasic sleep is a sleep pattern specification intended to compress sleep time to 2-5 hours daily. This is achieved by spreading out sleep into short (around 20-45 minute) naps throughout the day. This allows for more waking hours with relatively high alertness…
A while ago, Kuro5hin has a featured article titled Uberman’s sleep schedule. Ever since the article has been released, there are a lot of interest on polyphasic sleep – discussions are everywhere.
There are also attempts on testing and experiencing such method. Like recently in UberSleep.com, Nick Busey shows his efforts and experience on Polyphasic Sleep. Some people reported positively on such method, however some has bad experience on it:
… I spent 3 weeks attempting to adapt to the Uberman schedule, the major cause of my lack of function by the end was due to the slip up with the naps. My body never really had a chance when I gave it mixed signals as to when it could get sleep. I had a fair mix of good and bad days over the three weeks, the most depressing was the last week where I felt I was going backwards, not forward. Too many slip-ups that week left me disorientated and knackered. Before then, the first two weeks seemed much better, probably because my body was using up my energy reserves.
I may try the schedule again when I can dedicate a month to adapting. I am disappointed it did not work for me this time, what I shall concentrate on now is making sure I utilize my time effectively rather than trying to grab more.
Currently I am classified this as good to know, do not implement it yet. My concern of such method is the health issue associating to it. Does anyone have any information on this?
[via Hack a day]
Thanks for the link! Keep an eye and see how I do :)
[...] A couple days ago, I saw a post about polyphasic sleep on LifeHack.org. Since then I’ve been emailed about this topic as well, probably because I’ve written previously about becoming an early riser. [...]
[...] In my on-going quest on sleeping references, there is a great article called Good sleep, good learning, good life on sleeping and how does it relate to learning or creative achievements. First it talks about sleep deprivation in our modern society, then it follows on talking about functions of sleep, and insomnia. Finally it talks about some sleeping related intakes such as alcohol, caffeine and cigarettes. I like the section where Dr. Piotr Wozniak talks about alarm clock: … Few upwardly mobile people in the modern rat-race society can live without an alarm clock. Increasingly, time becomes the most precious commodity in society where achievement is often associated with speed and perfect time-management. However, alarm clocks introduce two harmful side effects: stress and sleep deprivation. [...]
Optimal Sleep
Sleeping is something we don’t usually think much about, but if you could do something to convert just 90 minutes of each day from sleep time into productive time that would give you and extra 10 hours each week. Steve
[...] Christopher Ketcham at Men’s Journal has written a article on power nap. In our previous introduction of power nap, polyphasic sleep involves the sleep pattern of 90 minutes. In this article, they have looked into compressing the nap into 20 minutes, by going through first two out of five of sleeping stages: … Here’s how the power nap works: Sleep comes in five stages that recur cyclically throughout a typical night, and a power nap seeks to include just the first two of them. The initial stage features the sinking into sleep as electrical brain activity, eye and jaw-muscle movement, and respiration slow. The second is a light but restful sleep in which the body gets ready — lowering temperature, relaxing muscles further — for the entry into the deep and dreamless “slow-wave sleep,” or SWS, that occurs in stages three and four. Stage five, of course, is REM, when the eyes twitch and dreaming becomes intense. [...]
[...] Then, we created some trends on the sleeping cycle. Bloggers have started to look into it, including our friend Steve Pavlina has tried and it works for him. [...]
Great to see this topic get more attention. I’m on day 50! Check my blog for updates on my progress.
[...] Lifehack.org började en diskussion om Polyphasic sömn för ett halvår sedan. … Polyphasic sleep is a sleep pattern specification intended to compress sleep time to 2-5 hours daily. This is achieved by spreading out sleep into short (around 20-45 minute) naps throughout the day. This allows for more waking hours with relatively high alertness… Sedan dess har flera börjat testa idén. Allt bygger på en artikel skriven av Kuro5hin; Uberman’s sleep schedule. [...]
[...] Information List of Polyphasic Sleep – lifehack.org (tags: life articles) [...]
[...] Also known as Uberman’s Sleep Schedule, Polyphasic Sleep is a sleep pattern specification intended to compress sleep time to 2-5 hours daily. This is achieved by spreading out sleep into short (around 20-45 minute) naps throughout the day. This allows for more waking hours with relatively high alertness. [...]
interestingly, Leonardo da Vinci lived on something similar. It is said he could not have had his moments of genius without polyphasic sleep. But this is all heresay for me. Anyone have more info on this topic?
[...] Nachdem ich ja in den Semesterferien einiges vorhabe, kommt natürlich die Frage auf, woher denn die Zeit für das alles kommen soll. Nun, ich beschäftige mich in letzter Zeit sehr intensiv mit Zeitmanagment und Lebensorganisation. Ich habe schon einige Bücher gelesen und im Web findet man natürlich auch eine Menge Quellen der Inspiration. So stolperte ich über einen Artikel über polyphasischen Schlaf bei lifehack.org. Anfangs hielt ich die ganze Sache für extrem verrückt, aber nach dem ich ein 90 Tage umfassendes Erfahrungsbericht auf Steve Pavlinas Blog gelesen hatte, konnte ich mir das ganze schon besser vorstellen. Und hey, das ganze nennt sich „Uberman’s Sleep Schedule„, das muss ich doch schon allein wegen dem Freak-Faktor probieren, oder? [...]
Great to see that this topic is still going strong! I’m 2 and a half months into my polyphasic sleep experiment and couldn’t be happier with the results so far!
This really isn’t a good idea. I’ve known people how can function well on 2 to 3 hours of continuous sleep a day, but I don’t see how anyone can function on several 20 to 45 minute naps. Your body requires you to enter certain sleep phases that take the typical person roughly 120 to 180 minutes of continuous sleep to cycle (60-90 minutes to get to your deepest level and 60-90 minutes to come back to the lightest level). By limiting your sleep time to 20-45 minutes you completely miss the “deep sleep”. You mind and body behave in very particular ways when in each stage of sleep. If one or more of these stages are skipped, your body goes into a more stressed state. This stress builds and eventually causes your body to enter a state of dysfunction. This can cause physical, immune, and psychological problems to arise. These include but are not limited to fatigue, dizziness, lack of concentration, feelings of dysphoria, and reduced resistance to disease.
Adam, the typical person takes an average of 14 minutes to fall asleep, and approximately 90 mins to reach stage 5 (REM) sleep. The goal of the Uberman schedule is to deprive the body of deep sleep, thus forcing one to immediately slip into REM sleep when sleep time is available. The other sleep stages can be emulated by meditating/doing yoga, and supplementing your diet accordingly. Although no long-term studies have been done, and your concerns are legitimate, THUS FAR no detrimental side-effects seem to occur outside of the adaptation period, where you are conditioning your body to fall into instantaneous stage 5 sleep. THUS FAR is stressed.
I haven’t attempted this yet, but i have participated in many sleep-deprivation experiments, including a 14 day substance-free test of the boundaries of human consciousness, and i wouldn’t suggest attempting any sleep-related manipulation without first doing a plethora of research, and setting up a safety net of friends and or colleagues to support, and if need be, stop you from hurting yourself.
Adam, the typical person takes an average of 14 minutes to fall asleep, and approximately 90 mins to reach stage 5 (REM) sleep. The goal of the Uberman schedule is to deprive the body of deep sleep, thus forcing one to immediately slip into REM sleep when sleep time is available. The other sleep stages can be emulated by meditating/doing yoga, and supplementing your diet accordingly. Although no long-term studies have been done, and your concerns are legitimate, THUS FAR no detrimental side-effects seem to occur outside of the adaptation period, where you are conditioning your body to fall into instantaneous stage 5 sleep. THUS FAR is stressed.
I haven’t attempted this yet, but i have participated in many sleep-deprivation experiments, including a 14 day substance-free test of the boundaries of human consciousness, and i wouldn’t suggest attempting any sleep-related manipulation without first doing a plethora of research, and setting up a safety net of friends and or colleagues to support, and if need be, stop you from hurting yourself.
Hi all, I’m doing Uberman’s sleep schedule with my partner; we’re at 3.5 weeks and counting. Personally I am not missing deep sleep and my energy levels are way higher (I used to be very negative and lethargic; now I have started a fairly rigorous fitness regime).
I still find it easy to become drowsy and oversleep at nighttime; however, if I get up immediately after a nap and start doing something active, the drowsiness quickly ceases to bother me.
–876
[...] 此外，还有一个怎么安排睡觉的实例： 每天睡6次：2 AM, 6 AM, 10 AM, 2 PM, 6 PM 和10 PM，每次30分钟左右。大家若是感兴趣，不妨试试。 原文链接 [...]
[...] Most people on this earth are monophasic, meaning they get all of their sleep at one time each 24 hour cycle. Believe it or not, there are other ways to manage your sleeping hours. The pattern I am going to attempt is Biphasic, meaning I will split my sleep into two distinct times. Why would I want to do this? Time is the main reason, there are just not enough hours in the day for me to accomplish all I want to. With this method of sleep, I should be able to cut my hibernation down from 8 hours to 4 1/2. [...]
You have got really useful information.
Might this be good to test while “holiday” which are 4 weeks before I have my final examens? I don’t want to risk them. :-(
But when it is possible to adjust my sleep cycle within one week then I can take my chance in my holiday week.
BTW: The previous poster is a splog. Remove it please. :)
New forum for Uberman Sleep Schedule here:
http://www.ubermanschedule.com
Hello Friend! I just came across your blog and wanted to drop you a note telling you how impressed I was with
the information you have posted here. I also have a blog about fast weight loss so I know I’m talking
about when I say yours is top-notch! Keep up the great work, you are providing a great resource on the Internet here!
If you have a moment, please visit my weight loss blog
Best success!
[...] I’ve been reading a lot lately about radical or alternative ideas on sleeping. Steve Pavlina, a self-styled ‘personal development’ guru and professional blogger, experimented with Polyphasic sleep and documented his findings on his blog. I found several very well-written articles on his site on topics from self discipline to lucid dreaming; Some I found highly insightful, while others were a bit off the wall and too bizarre for my liking. After adjusting to this new sleeping pattern, Steve was able to choose at which time to do his normal work: Since I’m living on something of a continuous schedule, I’ve been experimenting with different work times. Lately I’ve found that I really enjoy using 2am-10am for my main workday period. I like using this time period for several reasons. First, the house is quiet until about 6:30a when the rest of the family starts getting up, and by that time I’m deeply engaged in my work and have already gotten a lot done. Secondly, I seem to feel very physically relaxed during this time, which makes it easy to focus on mental work like writing or crafting a speech. Thirdly, I don’t feel the need to eat meals during this whole period, so I can work almost continuously without meal breaks, aside from having one nap and maybe grabbing a banana or enjoying a fruit smoothie around dawn. Fourthly, it feels great having a full day’s work completed by 10am, so anything else I get done that day is a bonus — in a way it makes every day feel like a weekend. Fifthly, there are no phone calls during the bulk of this period and no one expects a response to their email during these times, so I can focus on high priority projects without interruption. And lastly, it’s the perfect time for doing private, solo work in my home office if I need to concentrate as long as possible without interruption. [...]
I am starting the Polyphasic sleep cycle today. I was in a car accident over the weekend, and was at strict bed rest in the hospital. I think I had short naps naturally for the few days I was in, and now that I am out I came across this stange sleep pattern on the web. It seems like fate to me.
[...] Found some stuff on sleep and making it/you more productive, here’s one and another on polyphasic sleep (”taking multiple short sleep periods throughout the day instead of getting all your sleep in one long chunk”) – I can’t think that it would be good for you. And one on How to Become an Early Riser. [...]
[...] Found some stuff on sleep and making it/you more productive, here’s one and another on polyphasic sleep (”taking multiple short sleep periods throughout the day instead of getting all your sleep in one long chunk”) – I can’t think that it would be good for you. And one on How to Become an Early Riser. [...]
[...] more about polyphasic sleep schedule [...]
[...] Several cultures around the world use a “siesta” in the afternoon to stay productive, and many workers in the U.S. have reported success avoiding afternoon drowsiness with a nap. Some people (myself included) have even excelled on nothing but six well times naps per day, during polyphasic sleep. [...]
[...] дней назад я увидел сообщение о многофазном сне на LifeHack.Org. Буквально сразу же я начал получать письма по этой [...]
[...] some stuff on sleep and making it/you more productive, here’s one and another on polyphasic sleep (”taking multiple short sleep periods throughout the day instead of [...]
[...] overcome it. Polyphasic sleep (taking sleep in shorter cycles over an extended period) has helped some people overcome this kind of problem. This isn’t for everyone either and it may not be for [...]
[...] I intend to try it. If you’re curious, you can find more information on Polyphasic sleep at lifehack.org and Super Memory. Both have very interesting articles on the [...]
[...] relaunch their site. I’m also in the middle of renovating my kitchen. I may have to adopt the polyphasic sleep cycle to make it all [...]
[...] relaunch their site. I’m also in the middle of renovating my kitchen. I may have to adopt the polyphasic sleep cycle to make it all [...]
[...] logs posted on the internet about this sleep-hack, from a huge article in Wikipedia, to an information list on polyphasic sleep over at Lifehack, to Steve Pavlina’s log entries on this sleeping pattern over at his [...]
Hi there, I was looking around for a while searching for nist sp 800 53 and I happened upon this site and your post regarding o.us poetry, I will definitely this to my nist sp 800 53 bookmarks!
There seems to be a resurgence in the interest in polyphasic sleep since this post years ago.
You can view an updated list of current bloggers experimenting with polyphasic sleep at the following link.
http://jorel314.wordpress.com/contact/adventures-in-polyphasic-sleeping
[...] http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifehack/information-list-of-polyphasic-sleep.html [...]
[...] Lifehack me encuentro con lo que se llaman “sueños polifásicos”, los cuales consisten en [...]
[...] per day. For most people, this would translate into an extra 40 hours per week. Lifehack has some comments on an article by someone who uses this sleeping method. There is also a blog that is following [...]
[...] I was after a little sleep mid night and a little sleep mid day. And I wasn’t trying to go extreme — I just needed to break my sleep up into different [...]
Polyphasic sleep…
A few weeks ago a friend put me onto the wikipedia article on polyphasic sleep which I found very interesting. It claims that it is possible to reduce sleeping to around 2 hours a day by splitting sleep into smaller chunks, giving you 5 extra hours of …
[...] sleep schedule, maybe slightly modified. If you want to read more about Polyphasic Sleep, check out Lifehack.org or Steve Pavlina’s diary of adjusting to and living with the Polyphasic Sleep [...]
Just wanted to let you guys know about Poly-Phasers, an active online community of people attempting Poly Phasic sleep. Plenty of blogs, videos, articles and forums on the subject plus a very active IRC community.
[...] Çok fazlı uykuyu deneyen Steve Pavlina’nın blogu [...]
[...] die dazugehörige Linkliste: lifehack.org – Information list of polyphasic sleep How To Hack Your Brain, Part 1: Sleep dobersch.com – Mehrphasig schlafen (polyphasic sleep) [...]
[...] For example, some say the best way to sleep is for 20 minutes at a time spread throughout the day (polyphasic). Some say it’s best to sleep 8 hours. Some say drink a cup of coffee and take a nap [...]
[...] For example, some say the best way to sleep is for 20 minutes at a time spread throughout the day (polyphasic). Some say it’s best to sleep 8 hours. Some say drink a cup of coffee and take a nap [...]
I would love to know more about this. I must Wikipedia it ;) . I’ll consider trying it myself – but how long are the intervals supposed to be, and what happens if you miss one nap (because you were out and about)? It must be hard fitting this around real life.
[...] By labiciderayas Hace un par de días leí un blog sobre el sueño Polifásico en LifeHack.org, y me ha picado la [...]
Nice Article. I’m starting the “Dymaxion” sleep schedule for myself. Check it out: http://www.danceproof.com/2009/12/28/dymaxion-sleep-intro/
I just launched the first version of a free online alarm clock for napping that I built with polyphasic sleepers in mind. I call it Simple Nap and you can see/use it at http://www.SimpleNap.com. I’m really hoping that people interested in polyphasic sleep will use it and reach out to me with their feedback so I can improve this free resource and make it better for all polyphasic sleepers.
[...] to some (possibly less than reliable) sources the more naps you have in the day, the quicker you begin to enter REM, and the more satisfying each [...]
[...] ơi! #319: Greek Prefixes Forever 1. For those interested, more on polyphasic sleep here and here. The idea is that you sleep 20 minutes every four hours (e.g.) instead of 8 hours every 16 [...]
[...] couple days ago, I saw a post about polyphasic sleep on LifeHack.org. Since then I’ve been emailed about this topic as well, probably because I’ve written [...]
I am currently doing a Polyphasic Sleep Project using the Uberman sleep schedule. My daily logs can be found here: http://jdsportsonline.com/projects/polyphasic/polyphasic-sleep.html
On Day 57 I actually have reduced my nap time to 10 Minutes. I know crazy right? However, it has oddly been more effective. I am still doing daily logs and day 57 is found here: http://jdsportsonline.com/projects/polyphasic/polyphasic-sleep-day-57.html As of this writing I am on day 62.
[...] For information on polyphasic sleep, or a 28-hour day, check this out: http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifehack/information-list-of-polyphasic-sleep.html [...]
I have developed a new polyphasic method that might be more accessible to people. I call it Circadian Triphasic, and it uses the natural circadian rhythm to help mitigate the adaptation period that seems to be necessary with the Uberman or the Everyman. You can find out more about it on my blog: http://dymaxionsleepexperiment.blogspot.com/
What i doubt about is the natural organism’s clock of human body. Sleep is a repair or update schedule for not only the brain but all activities as i know. So the best sleep as I know, starts at 10:00 PM and ends at 5 AM , during this periods all the organs of the body are updated in order, from 10 PM to 11 PM livers, then stomach etc etc. I don’t recall the order completely but, don’t you think we should protect that natural “update” of the body, or don’ t you think it exists? If this is right, Uberman sleep schedule would have harmful effects to the body, organism and to each organ. That’ s why i doubt if it is healthy in long term or not. I am one of the person who really think about how to reduce the sleeping time or how to control what you think via sleeping time, thus, i m asking.
What i doubt about is that, organic “clock” of human body would not adapt itself to UbermanSS. Sleep is the phase or set of phases to repair or updates not only for the brain but all activities.The best sleep as I know,normally and naturally begins around 10:00 PM and ends at 5 AM. During this period all the organs are updated, checked, repaired, in an order. That begins for at 10 PM to 11 PM, first the livers lets say, then stomach etc etc. I don’t recall the order completely now. Do think we should protect that natural “update” of the body, or maybe you think it doesn’t exist? If it is right, Uberman sleep schedule would have harmful effects to the body, organism and to each organ. That’ s why i doubt if it USS is healthy in long term. I am one of the person who really think about reducing sleeping times and eager to learn about how to reduce the sleeping time, how to control what you think via sleeping time, thus, i m asking. I know very well that if i reduce sleeping time my daily life would be much more effective but if USS or other methods would effect my psychology, organic balance and/or natural states, i would better focus on how to use my 16 hours time more effectively. “Living in hurry” not good for any of us, thus improving “more effective decision making processes “would be a better option. Better live a peaceful and relaxed life.
Well I’ve been polyphasically sleeping for months now… 2 hours total sleep per day and I feel excellent. More specifically, I feel substantially more awake, alert, and healthy than when I was monophasically sleeping. I would be interested to see you cite specifically where and what you read in regards to organ and cellular repair. I have yet to read of someone having any health consequences due to this significantly shortened sleep schedule, even though most of the people I’ve read the accounts of didn’t continue the pattern indefinitely. They all (from those I have read) went out of their way to indicate they felt NO adverse health affects and it was simply the social struggle to be a polyphasically sleeper in a vastly monophasically sleeping world.
I’m not saying you’re “wrong,” but it’s hard to give much credence to an uncited reference and your “doubt,” especially as it seems as though you have not tried polyphasically sleeping yourself.
I don’t know about what he is saying, but I do know that your body regulates its sleep with light. At night is the best time to sleep simply because it is dark and that triggers your body to release the chemical to help you sleep. I’m always tired no matter how long I sleep, but I normally am forced awake at the wrong point of my sleep cycles by my kids.