Thread: Are there any advantages for going polyphasic ?

Sure.

Aside from being able to be awake overall far longer (an accomplished polyphasic sleeper can run on just 2-4 hrs of sleep per day), giving you essentially a longer life, if you sleep polyphasically over a substantial enough period of time, your brain will adapt to your pattern and basically slap you immediately into REM every time you go to sleep -- which is manna from heaven to a LD'er!

After attempting the Uberman schedule in college, I became very skeptical of this (I, like many others, did not make it past day two). Is there anything other than anecdotal evidence to suggest that a healthy lifestyle can include only 2 hours of sleep a day? By healthy, I mean you are able to function without being chronically tired, or suffering from any other downsides of sleep dep. Also, are there any other Ubermensches who have "managed" (ahem allegedly) the extreme-side of the scale besides Steve Pavlina and the girl (can't remember her handle) who seems to have developed it?

I am not claiming polyphasic is not possible--I obviously did it for two days! But are the more extreme schedules sustainable, in general (and not just for natural short sleepers)? And is it healthy?

Sageous, I also remember you saying you are currently on a siesta-style sleep schedule, which seems realistic to me. Would love to hear about that as well, and how that has affected your daily tiredness levels and your LD practice.

I think Sageous summed it up pretty well. I don't know much about it, but there seem to be many different variations on polyphasic sleep. I've heard of Everyman, Uberman, and Dymaxion. I would love to see scientists research those sleeping methods. I think I've heard that studies suggest a biphasic sleep at night and siesta after lunch schedule is beneficial. Unfortunately some of it probably has to do with what's practical for work and social life. I myself would ideally want that kind of siesta style, but the modern work day allows no flexibility for that.

I feel like with anything else, there are probably advantages as well as disadvantages, no? Monophasic sleeping takes a big chunk of your time, and you don't automatically go into REM to have vivid dreams. But sleep is not just for dreams. Your body also does pretty much it's own version of maintenance and repair during sleep. Does a polyphasic sleeping schedule sacrifice some physical health?

Originally Posted by ThreeCat

Sageous, I also remember you saying you are currently on a siesta-style sleep schedule, which seems realistic to me. Would love to hear about that as well, and how that has affected your daily tiredness levels and your LD practice.

Damn. Good memory!

Yes, for one or two months each year I practice a schedule that varies but amounts to one 3-4 hr "nighttime" sleep period (usually starting at 3 or 4am) and one or two 2hr naps during the day, where, theoretically, LD's are to be had. So, since my day can have a total of 8hrs of sleep (though I think 5 total hours was the average), I'm not sure I can speak as a true polyphasic representative. In all honesty, I'm not sure why an LD'er would want to sleep for just two hours a day, as that seems to limit dream-time. Anyway...

Because I do these programs with LD'ing in mind, and do them after preparing and looking forward to them for months, I'm not sure that, given my high levels of focus and overall dreaming-centric activity, my particular tiredness levels would be representative of your average polyphasic sleeper, just as my resultant LD's (some of my best work happens during these months) might not reflect the LD's another polyphaser might enjoy simply as a result of shifting their sleep pattern.

That said, I generally feel reasonably well-rested at all times, though I must admit that I also always tend to feel a bit "closer" to sleep, meaning that my body seems more interested in relaxing and going to sleep than it normally does (I usually take an hour or more to go to sleep). Beyond that, I've been doing this for about a decade now, and have never experienced any sleep or health related problems. Of course, by the same token, I've never experienced any substantial enough benefits that would tempt me to extend this practice to the full year.

I hope that (albeit briefly) answered your question; if not, then let me know and I'll try again.

Originally Posted by Sageous

In all honesty, I'm not sure why an LD'er would want to sleep for just two hours a day, as that seems to limit dream-time.

I guess it's also kind of an express train to REM, because your body wants to go into it right away to make up for the lack of a long chunk of sleeping time. Even still, though, I think it depends on the person--I personally would never consider going polyphasic. I find if I get anything less than 8 hours of sleep per night, I feel like crap getting up. It seems to me there are so many benefits to sleeping longer that I wouldn't want to give it up. And I still have several dreams every night!

If there are any LDing moms in this forum at all, they would probably get a good chuckle out of this thread. From what I can tell, every woman who has a child becomes polyphasic, whether she wants to or not.

Originally Posted by Sageous

Damn. Good memory!

I try!

Because I do these programs with LD'ing in mind, and do them after preparing and looking forward to them for months, I'm not sure that, given my high levels of focus and overall dreaming-centric activity, my particular tiredness levels would be representative of your average polyphasic sleeper, just as my resultant LD's (some of my best work happens during these months)

Awesome. Sounds fantastic, which makes me wonder about this next bit . . .

Of course, by the same token, I've never experienced any substantial enough benefits that would tempt me to extend this practice to the full year.

Originally Posted by Manat

If there are any LDing moms in this forum at all, they would probably get a good chuckle out of this thread. From what I can tell, every woman who has a child becomes polyphasic, whether she wants to or not.

I am neither a mom nor a dad, yet I got quite a chuckle out of this

Originally Posted by ThreeCat

Awesome. Sounds fantastic, which makes me wonder about this next bit . . .

Originally Posted by Sageous: Of course, by the same token, I've never experienced any substantial enough benefits that would tempt me to extend this practice to the full year.

That's not so much of a contradiction as it sounds, at least to me. I only have the strength of will (and expendable calories, at my age) to do very serious dream-work once or twice per year, with about a month being the maximum sustainable "submersion" time per effort. So, absent dreamwork, I have never found any real value or enticement in doing polyphasic sleep just to do polyphasic sleep... I really don't mind sleeping away 1/3 or more of every day, especially because I still get several hours of excellent dreams per day anyway.

I hope that made sense, or at least serves as an excuse for once more stepping on my own words!