Information List of Polyphasic Sleep

October 17 by | 63 comments | Lifehack, Lifestyle | Tags: ,

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]

  • http://www.ubersleep.com/ Nick Busey

    Thanks for the link! Keep an eye and see how I do :)

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  • http://www.betterthanyourboyfriend.com Tynan

    Great to see this topic get more attention. I’m on day 50! Check my blog for updates on my progress.

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  • yusef

    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?

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  • http://www.solegoal.com Paul

    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!

  • Adam

    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.

    • Enkizzle

      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.

    • Enkizzle

      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.

  • 876

    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

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  • http://blog.mxchange.org/ Quix0r

    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. :)

  • http://www.ubermanschedule.com Jonny

    New forum for Uberman Sleep Schedule here:

    http://www.ubermanschedule.com

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  • http://www.aimtosimplify.com Sonya

    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.

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  • http://jorel314.wordpress.com jorel314

    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

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  • http://www.poly-phasers.com Polykan

    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.

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  • http://www.barcodes.co.nz Mia

    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.

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  • http://www.danceproof.com Arsene Hodali

    Nice Article. I’m starting the “Dymaxion” sleep schedule for myself. Check it out: http://www.danceproof.com/2009/12/28/dymaxion-sleep-intro/

  • http://www.SimpleNap.com Simple Nap

    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.

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  • http://jdsportsonline.com JD

    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

  • http://jdsportsonline.com JDSports

    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.

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  • Leifweaver

    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/

  • Baris

    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.

  • Baris

    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. 

    • http://www.facebook.com/lauwersp Peter David Lauwers

      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.