Polyphasic Sleep

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File: 1450140847944.jpg (32.93 KB, 320x317, 320:317, 1429651814054.jpg)

Polyphasic Sleep Anonymous 12/15/15 (Tue) 00:54:07 No.4706

Has anyone here tried polyphasic sleep?

I did some reading after seeing an infographic detailing different sleep schedules. The idea is that the body only enters REM sleep a few times during the standard 8-hour sleep cycle, leaving the remaining time as "wasted" non-REM sleep. Apparently, the REM sleep is when your body repairs tissue and catalogs memories. When the body gets less sleep than normal, it cuts out the non-REM sleep periods to ensure enough REM sleep is achieved.

I've read many different accounts from both believers and doubters. Believers claim that you need to push through the adaptation period (when you're body hasn't gotten used to a lowered amount of sleep yet) in order to get to the benefits. Doubters claim that will never happen or that there are negative side effects like decreased creativity and energy; believers counter by saying this only focuses on the adaptation period. Steve Pavlina is a notable example of someone who succeeded in using polyphasic sleep to work efficiently on 2 hrs of sleep a day; but he's just one example.

I get off from uni for a month tomorrow and I figure that's plenty of time to get through an adaptation phase, particularly if I start with a less extreme sleep cycle (current plan is 4.5 hrs core w/ 2 30-min naps spaced during waking hours, then down to 3 hr core w/ 3 20-min naps if things go well).

Any personal stories /improve/? Any tips or thoughts?

Anonymous 12/15/15 (Tue) 06:27:31 No.4707

Statistically, some people are going to be unable to do it. I don't know what the actual numbers are; could be almost everyone can do it, could be almost no one can do it. What's certain is this: if you try to do it and you can't, it will do harm. Until there is a study confirming that it's possible, I personally would abstain.

Anonymous 12/15/15 (Tue) 08:03:41 No.4708

Personally I think it's a waste of time.

I don't think you should be lengthening your day to reduce time wasted, instead I'd focus on improving the quality of the day in its current length. If you're struggling to control your day as is, piling on more time to it, won't make much of a difference. In fact, the adaptation period will probably see you in an alltime willpower low, and if you are already struggling controlling your day, you will have a much harder time during that period.

Quality over quantity.

Anonymous 12/19/15 (Sat) 18:10:23 No.4725

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Yeah stuff like uberman/everyman is usually a waste of time, unless you have almost no social life/commitments and a lot of discipline.

For anyone looking to change their schedule, I would recommend segmented sleep. What I've done for months is, sleep from 9:00pm to 12:30am, then sleep from 3:30am to 7:00am. (I feel very productive in that night gap and get a lot of shit done.) You can also remove about an hour from one of the segments and replace it with a 20-30 minute nap during the day, like in pic related.

Even more important than the hours you choose to sleep is consistency, and avoiding over- and under- sleeping. After you choose a schedule, set your alarm to a specific sound, and condition yourself to get up immediately after hearing it. If you have a habit of turning off your alarm and going back to sleep, then do a few "practice sessions" where you set the alarm for 2 minutes from now, and practice getting up immediately when it goes off. Do five of these sessions in a row, this will condition your mind like Pavlov's dogs, and waking up should become an automatic process. After maintaining consistency for a few months, you may find you don't need an alarm anymore since the schedule is ingrained in your body.

Anonymous 12/20/15 (Sun) 03:13:55 No.4726

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>>4725

OP here.

What I do to wake up is put my alarm on the other side of the room so I have to get up to go get it. That way I have to make a conscious decision to go back to bed, thereby knowingly failing.

My biggest problem has been falling asleep during passive things like watching movies or reading. I need to do something stimulating like work out or play video games when I wake up, otherwise I fall back asleep without even realizing it.

The most difficult time for me is between waking up and the first nap. If I just do active or stimulating things during this time, I should be able to get through it. Right now however, it's the only segment I keep failing in.

More work needs to be done.

Anonymous 12/21/15 (Mon) 00:17:22 No.4729

It's a worthy goal, having more hours in your day. Next best thing to actually living longer.

Don't know how you'd keep it up in a professional setting, though. But depending on your interests and path that may not be an issue for you.

Anonymous 12/27/15 (Sun) 21:56:42 No.4793

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OP Update:

Experiment has been going well. I am able to fall asleep during my naps (but not for the full duration). Caffeine immediately after waking up from core sleep has been helpful. One of the biggest problems I have is a feeling of "fuzzy brain" early in the first morning segment. If I read a book my mind starts to wander, especially when laying down.

I've done more reading and most 3-nap schedules put a nap about 3-4 hrs after waking up from core sleep, then space out the remaining 2 naps over 6-7 hr periods; presumably this would cut through the morning zombie affect. The problem with this is that when college resumes I usually have engagements ranging from 5:15-7:30 starting times; a 3:00 wakeup time would set the 1st nap smack in that time frame. A possible solution would be to start sleeping earlier, perhaps 11:00 or 10:30 at night, then wake up at 2:00 or 2:30 and get a few hours of work in before catching a quick nap at 4:30 or 5:00 (though that would be a dangerous gamble with 2 weeks left to test).

Going forward I am going to cut out another hour of core sleep (down to 3.5), add a 3rd nap, and cut naps down to 20 mins and rearrange their times.

Anonymous 12/31/15 (Thu) 07:10:41 No.4818

File: 1451545842169.jpg (1.63 MB, 1006x4018, 503:2009, 1424748316327-3.jpg)

>I did some reading after seeing an infographic detailing different sleep schedules.

Was this the infograph by chance?

Anonymous 01/01/16 (Fri) 15:47:19 No.4832

>>4818

yes

Anonymous 01/25/16 (Mon) 02:54:45 No.4938

>nobody is online in the middle of the night

>reading will make you fall asleep

>easy to sleep through by accident

>half awake anyway

It was a waste of time. Sleep gets much better when you realize it's not a waste of time, but an essential resting period which you can enjoy. Don't be afraid to waste the day sleeping, your body needs it.

Anonymous 01/29/16 (Fri) 18:05:11 No.4973

>>4938

Especially if you workout, your body needs all the sleep it can get and some more. That polyphasic sleep thingy seems to me only made for a NEET who don't workout or do much outside of shitposting on the internet. (I'm not trying to insult the OP or anyone here though)

Anonymous 02/01/16 (Mon) 00:40:18 No.4985

>>4973

OP again.

I gave up on the experiment last week. Without a greater project to work on or a big test to study for, all the extra time just went to waste. That and getting less sleep fucks with my gains and hormones.

I learned a lot from this and definitely recommend it to other anons (as a short-term test). I really noticed the extra time that I had, and it was really bizarre to go to sleep for 20 minutes and wake up from a dream.

If you have some sort of project to throw yourself into (like a piece of art or story, whatever), fucking go for it. But I definitely don't think it is worth using for an extended period.

Anonymous 03/14/16 (Mon) 20:56:01 No.5298

I did it for 3 months, but college, uberman,

Lots of oversleepings, oh but the DREAMS!

I had very vivid dreams, it felt wonderful!

You usually can forget days past, days seem longer and so do weeks. As you have more and more and more time, you become more lazy, because you have more time, and less productive.

It's true though, if you have no organization skills before poly sleep, having more time will just help you waste it.

Anonymous 03/14/16 (Mon) 20:58:01 No.5299

>>5298 (same poster)

I did enjoy uberman while I was at it, but life didn't let me do it.

I plan on going poly once again, later in life, one of the best/weirdest periods of my life.

Anonymous 03/14/16 (Mon) 23:21:42 No.5303

>>5298

>>5299

I noticed that I wasted a lot of time while doing it as well. I would wake up at 3:30 AM and then have to play video games for 3 hours to keep myself awake, then after my 1st nap I usually was okay. Once college started back up, I read and took notes from books for a whole 3 days and then just went back to using my extra time to lurk.

Tell more stories about your experience.

Anonymous 03/15/16 (Tue) 02:04:44 No.5305

>>5303

Lots of wasted time. lots of weird dreams.

I think I gained the ability to sleep in the day if comfy.

I want to get the ability to get asleep very uncomfy. I can't manage to do it. I want to sleep on the floor sometimes, but I can't bring myself to do it.

Anonymous 03/15/16 (Tue) 18:31:10 No.5314

>>4706

>>4725

I wanted to try this many times but couldn't because I had work and live in a very disruptive home but if I become a NEET again I will definitely give it a go.

However, I did try taking a 30min nap once a day and man I felt SO refreshed and energized after it, even my depression disappeared whenever I woke up.