Home General Discussion

Polyphasic sleep pattern

polycounter lvl 11
Offline / Send Message
Spoon polycounter lvl 11
I'm wondering, how many of you have tried a polyphasic sleep cycle? Thinking about trying it? Even heard about it?

Why would/wouldn't you want to do it?

I just started the everyman cycle 12 hours ago myself. 4 hours more every day to create art (just to keep this thread art related and hopefully avoid a thread lock :) ), seems too good to be true. Is it?

Replies

  • commander_keen
    Offline / Send Message
    commander_keen polycounter lvl 18
    Sounds like a good idea.

    [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLTg2nHZEHQ"]Psych-Kramer Polyphasic - YouTube[/ame]
  • Steve Schulze
    Offline / Send Message
    Steve Schulze polycounter lvl 18
    Mark Serrel's series on his attempt at Polyphasic sleep should tell you all you need to know.
    http://www.kotaku.com.au/tags/sleeping-like-superman/
    It makes for great reading even if you're not planning to drive yourself quite literally insane with sleep deprivation.
  • FullSynch
    Offline / Send Message
    FullSynch polycounter lvl 11
    May wanna explain it in detail to save some of us some googling.

    No I haven't tried this, I have work, school, a relationship, and various side projects. No time for naps. :(

    Even if I could afford this sleep cycle I don't think I could adhere to it. I take a while to fall asleep and wake up feeling like a zombie. I think I would end up wasting any time gained. I'm not a napper, I like my morning routine and flopping down exhausted after a long day of progress for that sweet 6-8 hrs is the best sedative for me. :)
  • Spoon
    Offline / Send Message
    Spoon polycounter lvl 11
    Jackablade - A lot of people go straight for the uberman and fail. Not surprisingly, I would say. I wouldnt be able to do that myself. But the everyman cycle seems a lot more approachable. But maybe I am wrong, and will be crying in this thread in 2 days :)

    FullSynch - You are right, I should have explained it. It is a descriptive name, though "polyphasic sleep", but I had to google it myself when I heard about it for the first time, so I should have done you that favor, I agree :)
    But maybe you should read some more about it? Lacking time is exactly one of the things it cures. You get more time per day.
    You are lalso right about the zombie part. Thats why it takes time to adapt to, you have to practice the skill of sleeping, so the body will be able to go into almost instant REM, saving you all the time of the "wasted" sleep time.

    I dont know that much about it yet, so I wont be lecturing. I have just been curious about this for half a year now, and atm I am in a position where I can actually try it out, so I am going for it :)
  • deohboeh
    Offline / Send Message
    deohboeh polycounter lvl 5
    I tried going through a few days with less sleep but I usually end up dosing at inappropriate times. Like while eating, bathing, and once or twice driving stopped after that. 6 hrs sleep everyday is just enough.
  • inflict3d
    Offline / Send Message
    inflict3d polycounter lvl 7
    It's really interesting theme, Spoon.
    I tried this method by Steve Pavlina:
    http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/05/how-to-become-an-early-riser/
  • Joao Sapiro
    Offline / Send Message
    Joao Sapiro sublime tool
    this might be great theoretically, but i think that regular sleep is still the best since you dont need to rest every 4 or 6 hours , imagine what that would do to your social circle , "hey guys i cant go to the movies as i have to take a nap in a couple of hours" , i might be wrong tho.
  • LordSebbington
    Offline / Send Message
    LordSebbington polycounter lvl 6
    It's definitely worth a go if your schedule permits it.

    I tried Everyman for a few months some time ago and enjoyed it, though it's not really a long term option. For the first week it's tricky to get used to it and being strict with yourself to not oversleep. After a while it starts to click and you can drop off pretty quickly.

    You do tend to eat a little bit more than normal and you do need to have a very flexible lifestyle. Long term though, it's hard to get stuff done. You have more time but if you want to go out for the day it's difficult to work in a couple of 20 minute naps when you're with friends (not to mention feeling like a bit of a tramp sleeping in spare corners). Plus, pottering round at night when the rest of the country's sleeping can be a bit off putting.

    Absolutely go for it while you can and see how you go.
  • Goeddy
    Offline / Send Message
    Goeddy greentooth
    mhm i dunno about this, i'd speak to a doctor first before attempting this.
    sleep deprivation is something you shouldn't fuck with.
    if you catch a cold or something you could be severely endangering yourself
  • mats effect
    I kind of enjoy having to go to sleep at the end of the day if nothing else to lie in the dark and listen to an audio book for a wile. Think I would go a bit insane at the prospect of life sort of merging into one "endless day" with short naps.
  • WarrenM
    If I were single and unemployed (or a freelancer working in my underwear) I would totally give it a try. As it stands, it won't fit into my life.
  • Dave Jr
    Offline / Send Message
    Dave Jr polycounter lvl 9
    I was known at Uni as the guy that rarely slept; and could be found in the labs at any hour in the day.. Days blurred together and my longest streak staying up without sleep was 4 whole days (my body kept trying to make me doze off) I started seeing black dots in my vision, and got extremely twitchy and fidgety... I could pickup the slightest sound and was irritiable...

    I would not go back to that place again :( I do however have an irregular sleep pattern, and since can get away with around 6 hours of sleep without it effecting me.
  • Ruz
    Online / Send Message
    Ruz polycount lvl 666
    If I were single and unemployed (or a freelancer working in my underwear)

    Ruz hurriedly puts a pair of pants on

    I get about 4 or 5 hours sleep most nights. i have been doing this for about 20 years and yeah I get a bit irritable sometimes but on the whole I feel fine
  • Nam.Nguyen
    Offline / Send Message
    Nam.Nguyen polycounter lvl 9
    This remind me about "Lost" (TV series)

    Desmond_Hume_with_an_AK-47.jpg

    when you living alone on an island, and have to press the damn button every 108 minutes to save the world. Well, that sleep circle make sense, otherwise I think I would go crazy
  • repete
    Offline / Send Message
    repete polycounter lvl 6
    I think it's time to look up and read about the science of sleep. Your brain needs rest and the average person needs around 7 to 8 hours shut eye, I get by on 5 to 6 hours but everyone is different. Sleep deprivation is extremely dangerous if you are operating machines, your car for instance.

    Sleep is important :poly121:

    https://www.ted.com/talks/russell_foster_why_do_we_sleep
  • ExcessiveZero
    Offline / Send Message
    ExcessiveZero polycounter lvl 6
    This is insane, don't try and cheat sleep because of fringe ideas and fringe studies, there is so much purpose and function in repairing the body, sorting memories and the mind and learning function involved in deep sleep.

    People with sleep apnoea are case examples of people who don't get enough deep sleep, learning, function, memory, mood are all going to suffer, if sleep was non essential we wouldn't sleep let alone for as long as we do, think about it from a evolution perspective, sleeping other than for winter preservation in the form of hibernation which we do not do poses nothing but predatory risk so we no doubt sleep the minimum we need for key functional efficiency.

    if anything I think more of us need to sleep more not less.
  • ZacD
    Offline / Send Message
    ZacD ngon master
    Actually our 8 hours of straight sleep of night isn't human's natural sleep pattern, of course there's Siestas, if you take a mid day nap, you need less sleep at night. Also there's http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segmented_sleep the idea that people would naturally sleep for 4 hours, wake up for 2 or 3 hours, and then sleep for 4 more.
  • WarrenM
    That's my understanding as well.

    Besides, it isn't about depravation. It's about pacing out the sleep into smaller segments. You're still getting the same amount of rest. The idea is that, longer term, you drop into rem sleep much faster than you normally would as your brain becomes accustomed to your new sleeping pattern.

    Obviously there will be some grogginess and tired feeling when you first start doing it.
  • Spoon
    Offline / Send Message
    Spoon polycounter lvl 11
    Thanks everyone for chiming in. Im surprised about the spectrum of opinions on this :)
    Although I do feel quite a few people misunderstand the idea behind these polyphasic sleep cycles

    I was about to reply, but then Warren read my thoughts and transcribed it for me :)
    WarrenM wrote: »
    That's my understanding as well.

    Besides, it isn't about depravation. It's about pacing out the sleep into smaller segments. You're still getting the same amount of rest. The idea is that, longer term, you drop into rem sleep much faster than you normally would as your brain becomes accustomed to your new sleeping pattern.

    Obviously there will be some grogginess and tired feeling when you first start doing it.

    So yes, I will be deprived for a few days, but after that I will go instant REM, and will get the same "sleep" as everyone else, but just cutting away the wasted tie that doenst give the body anything.

    - At least I hope so :D
  • WarrenM
    Might take more than a few days. :) But I believe that's what I've read, yes...
  • Mstankow
    Offline / Send Message
    Mstankow polycounter lvl 11
    https://www.sciencenews.org/article/sleep-allows-brain-wash-out-junk This makes me think weird sleeping methods could be pretty unhealthy. Though proper research hasn't been done on this. So in reality you are taking a huge risk on something that hasn't been properly researched yet.
  • Goeddy
    Offline / Send Message
    Goeddy greentooth
    might put some personal experience in here.

    i was once forced to split up my sleeping time into two 4-hour chunks a day and after a bit more then a week i was completely destroyed.

    i was sleepy all the time, and i had to drive a longer distance, wich was pretty dangereous, and that was when i made the changes to get into my regular sleep cycle again.

    i didn't even reduce my total sleeping time, just changed the pattern.
    i am in general a very sleep dependant person i have to admit.

    what i would say about all this is: never change a running system.
  • JamesArk
    Offline / Send Message
    JamesArk polycounter lvl 10
    Spoon wrote: »
    I'm wondering, how many of you have tried a polyphasic sleep cycle? Thinking about trying it? Even heard about it?

    Why would/wouldn't you want to do it?

    I just started the everyman cycle 12 hours ago myself. 4 hours more every day to create art (just to keep this thread art related and hopefully avoid a thread lock :) ), seems too good to be true. Is it?

    Unknowingly, I've kinda been doing this all year.

    To put it simply: I got a cat and its sleep cycle fucks with mine in terrible ways. I now get between 3.5 and 5 hours of sleep per night with insane consistency. So for the past ~8 months I've gone to bed at or very close to midnight and I have woken up between 3:30 and 5 AM. I can't stress enough how remarkably consistent this has been.

    Occasionally (once or twice per week, sometimes less) I will take a nap in order to preserve my sanity, although I find the time it takes to get back into a functioning state after a nap is generally not worth the effort most of the time.

    On the one hand, the actual time I'm awake is obviously longer than someone sleeping 7-8+ per night, but the amount of time I spend trying to summon the energy to function all day probably offsets that. Total, usable time to make art is probably close to the same as a normal sleep schedule. If you end up doing shit just to stay awake on this schedule you will probably be in a working time deficit. The benefits of having extra time, while probably real, seem overstated. Getting 4 more hours of shitty, groggy working time in doesn't help as much as it seems like it would.

    I should note that I fall asleep damn-near instantaneously, and sleep quite well until I wake up. I have no idea how much REM sleep I get each night but holy fuck am I almost always tired. On paper it kind of makes sense that you only need brief naps, but in practice I feel like anyone getting a full night's sleep will out perform someone that doesn't.

    TLDR: From my experience as a disgruntled cat owner, you will get more time out of your day by focusing on being productive/cutting out distractions than sleeping less.

    If you go through with it, get a cat.
Sign In or Register to comment.