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Polyphasic Sleep

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Re: Polyphasic Sleep

#11

Post by jonnathanson »

jadeddrag wrote: post #6

I've tried this for a few months, and cannot recommend it. One of the only things I really enjoyed was how vivid the dreams were. However even after the experiment, I found it difficult to stay awake during important parts of the day, and felt like I could easily slip back into the polyphasic cycle.

Same. In particular, I found that I could induce lucid dreams pretty much on command. At the same time, I noticed (what felt like) a correlation between this ability and generally being wrecked with exhaustion.

In retrospect, I'm not sure if my dreams were actually more vivid (or if the lucid ones occurred with actually greater frequency), or if they just felt that way because I moved so quickly between sleep and wake, so the dreams weren't cleared from my working memory. (If I had to wager, I'd say it's more a matter of recall bias than actual improvement in dream quality.)

Perhaps it takes a long, long time to adjust to a polyphasic sleep regimen. Perhaps some of us just can't do it, due to the idiosyncrasies of our physiologies.

An interesting article by a fellow HN commenter, who did an extensive self-study on sleep quality (including thoughts on the costs vs. benefits of polyphasic sleep):

http://www.gwern.net/Zeo

Re: Polyphasic Sleep

#12

Post by randall »

I did it for 90 days. It was awesome. Then the holidays hit, which made it impossible.

Polyphasic is perfect for the person who doesn't have any other life commitments and wants to be super productive every day. (Weekend mornings get super boring, btw. So I replayed every Xbox game I own. And then that got boring.)

Re: Polyphasic Sleep

#13

Post by IanChiles »

michaelburns wrote: post #2

I remember trying this some year ago when a lot of bloggers were trying it out and blogging about their experiences. I tried the Uberman Sleep Cycle (4x15min) but inevitably it wore me down to the point of being completely nonfunctional.

Thankfully the recommended uberman is 6x20-22 and dymaxion is 4x30, but there are no confirmed successful adaptations to it. Uberman is seriously difficult to adapt to, but Everyman-3 is a good compromise (several naps and a core)

Re: Polyphasic Sleep

#15

Post by bdclimber14 »

alexhawdon wrote: post #10

Not completely connected, but I'd be very interested to hear if anyone's experienced something similar. Or, even better, can point to some science that can explain my experience: I find my concentration improves tremendously after I've been awake for 20-24 hours, and I can continue being more productive than usual for up to about 40 hours, at which point the negative effects start to outweigh the positives. Anyone ex…

I, too, experience this. I believe it is related to cortisol spikes similarly to the increased daytime cortisol levels seen with insomniacs.

Re: Polyphasic Sleep

#17

Post by hoers »

alexhawdon wrote: post #10

Not completely connected, but I'd be very interested to hear if anyone's experienced something similar. Or, even better, can point to some science that can explain my experience: I find my concentration improves tremendously after I've been awake for 20-24 hours, and I can continue being more productive than usual for up to about 40 hours, at which point the negative effects start to outweigh the positives. Anyone ex…

Sleep deprivation and short sleep cycles are a symptom for mania, and most people with bipolar disease experience this. But weirdly enough, it's not only a symptom, but also a trigger. Means you can simulate/induce mania by depriving yourself of sleep. I actually know a lot of People doing this on purpose. Although apart from being bad for your body in general, if you are in risk of developing bipolar, this might accelerate the process.

Re: Polyphasic Sleep

#18

Post by nicholassmith »

I'm considering switching to a polyphasic sleep cycle in the next few weeks, I've often found myself more productive on 4 hours + nap when I've had the opportunity but my work schedule has precluded me from attempting it. There's been a few interesting studies and articles where the rise of monophasic sleep is a relatively recent addition to modern lives (I think ~Victorian era), but obviously we all have a distinct number of years of sleep patterning that our bodies are accustomed too.

Re: Polyphasic Sleep

#19

Post by Raphmedia »

randall wrote: post #12

I did it for 90 days. It was awesome. Then the holidays hit, which made it impossible. Polyphasic is perfect for the person who doesn't have any other life commitments and wants to be super productive every day. (Weekend mornings get super boring, btw. So I replayed every Xbox game I own. And then that got boring.)

What kind of Polyphasic sleep did you attempt?

Re: Polyphasic Sleep

#20

Post by FR6 »

When I was in university I tried the polyphasic sleep technic for 5 weeks. Here are my findings:

- The first 14 days are really difficult because the system must adapt and causes a severe lack of sleep. During this period, I would not trust myself to drive a car.

- Do not drink coffee and alcohol because it completely destabilizes the system.

- The vivid/lucid dreams where an incredible experience.

- Not sleeping at the same hours as my girlfriend.

- Time... so much time! It is also often the reason that people fail to polyphasic sleeping. Some people don't find anything to do and fall asleep watching television.

Overall a very pleasant experience!

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