Polyphasic Sleep

[clockworkoranges16]

Can anyone speak from experience about the effects of a polypphasic sleep schedule on lucid dreams. I have just gotten a few days into one, Feels Great! But no LD's. Has anyone successfully done this?

[Seeker]

Welcome on board clockworkorange! Great movie that was... Remember seeing it at the midnight showing years ago. There has been some discussion about it here about a year ago, I cannot remember the details. Have you tried searching for it? Try searching for polyphasic or uberman. I remember at least one person that was experimenting with it.

[Kula]

The main topic about polyphasic sleep is here.... http://www.dreamviews.com/forum/viewtopic....ight=polyphasic I tried shifting into this sleep pattern using the cold turkey method, but it was too much. I'm going to try a gradual shift into it, later this year. How did you shift into the cycle, clockworkoranges16? Best of luck with it

[Dangeruss]

this sounds great! A few of my friends and I do something similar but not nearly as intense. I sleep in 2-3 periods per day, after school, early night, and late night. I'd like to try the all-out thing, but I don't think it'll work. Maybe I'll try it next summer!

[clockworkoranges16]

[/quote]How did you shift into the cycle, clockworkoranges16? Best of luck with it I have just started the core sleep variation. I do about 4 hours of sleep somewhere around midnight and then I have about 3-4 naps spaced throughout the day. The days that i have faithfully done this schedule I have felt fantastic. The others, not so much. Eventually I hope to be able to occasionaly replace my core sleep with some naps if I feel the need to be busy around the clock. However, I stumbled upon this website and am fascinated by the possibilities of what my lunch break could be like if I manage to nail my schedule and steadily have lucid dreams. The possibilites for increased effeciency, medititaion, enjoyment, and something to just tell my friends is absolutely mind-boggling. Either that or I am about to land myself with some massive chronic sleep disorders. Whatever[/b]

[Ex Nine]

This is fantastic. I've never heard of this particular method before, but I've actually done a version of it on my own. It was back when I was really engaged in lucid dream study, probably when I was 12. I woke up during the night and wrote forever on the details of my dreams, and then had to go to school. I guess I got about 3 hours of sleep every night and I felt great. But, as you know, I would talk about this, and people got scared out of their minds. It's really tragic, but because society said it was healthier, I slept through the night and my dream journaling suffered. I've done it in other stints since then. You see, the thing is, I no longer felt like I was ever sleeping. Instead, I felt like I was just closing my eyes and just experiencing another dream reality. This is what I personally felt was difficult to adjust. Paired with our current ueber-medicated society that is frightened of anything that isn't normal, this gave me pause and repeatedly wished for total and utter unconsciousness again. Now, strangely, wishing for total unconsciousness also sounds unhealthy, doesn't it? Doctors are just fucking auto mechanics. But now I'm reinvigotated. I just have 3 classes left until I graduate college in December, so I have the perfect schedule to try this out. I also have big creative work I'd like to do, which during the past has kept me up nights anyways. I suspect I will adjust to it rather easily (considering the circumstances), since I've done something very similar. I'll start immediately after tonight, and keep a note of it in my journal, which is available by click the button at the bottom of this post. But tonight is my sister's wedding. Right now I actually look like a magician with my tux. ;)

[Placebo]

Hmm, I took the time to read up on polyphasic sleep, and yes, it's an interesting idea. Ex Nine, did you ever get it right? I'm guessing not, since your journal doesn't make a lot of mention of it past a few days. Anybody keen on trying this with me? Someone who can? I work in an office, but I have a pretty understanding boss who would probably be willing to let me split my lunchtime in two and let me sleep in my car. Part of my interest is to see how 'strongwilled' I am, or how determined my subconscious will be to stop me. Willpower is such an odd thing after all. I've read the main thread on this at Polyphasic sleep cycles but not seen any research topic on it - and very few people on the net who seem to have gotten it right. Perhaps I'm not looking in the right places. [EDIT] Okay, I found a few experiences. Must have been looking in the wrong places

[Ex Nine]

No, I never did, Placebo. The biggest drawback to the polyphasic is the loss of flexibility in your sleep schedule. The author of one of the essays on it that was linked to in one of these threads even mentioned that it would be harmful to social relationships, since you won't be able to stay out with friends all night, or even be with them for much more than 4 hours. I did it for almost a week. You're not even supposed to see results in the first week, but a few things happened, one of them important. Around the time I started, I met someone I wanted to stay up with all night... and all of a sudden I valued that flexibility a great deal. I was also keen on seeing how strongwilled I was, but it ended up not being a question of that. There are benefits and costs to this, and for me the costs just plain outweight the benefits. The largest cost, of course, was an opportunity cost - the cost of forgoing something new. So, since this is a medium to long term project, I suggest you carefully examine the general contingencies and what all the costs and benefits mean for you, including opportunity cost. A loss of flexibility means that you will not be as able to seize or handle unexpected events in your life. What if you all of a sudden have to travel, for example? Are you interested in meeting new people? This will make those things more difficult. And it is not a question of wills whether or not those things are important to you. It will work best if you lead a structured and predictable life and you want to lead a structured and predictable life. If it's feasible and you want it, I'm confident that you'll do well. Good luck!

[Placebo]

I'm fairly sure I could get it to work for me. Even if there is a period in eg. 2 months time where I cannot maintain it, apparently it is a lot easier to get back into the routine again the next time Apparently once you're properly through the adaptation part, it's not a problem to push out your nap to 6 or 7 hours. Which should be just fine. The only difficulty I have is where I'm going to nap at lunchtime and just before coming home. For the first week I'll make sure I have my car, and sleep on the back seat. Without my car, I'm going to have to impose on friend's cars or learn to enjoy the outdoors Anyway thanks for the reply. You confirmed the cons that I have read about. But I don't think they'll bother me that much. [EDIT] A good page to read on someone who has given it a good go, is here: Steve Pavlina Make sure to check out his wife's perspective on it as well. [EDIT2] Whoever is interested can follow along here: Placebo's Polyphasic Sleep Journal

[muse.v]

I first read about this much earlier this year, on everything2.com. I have been subscribed to a (the) uberman / polyphasic mailing list for a while, and found stevepavlina.com from there. If you're interested the mailing list is: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/uberman/ I don't really need the extra time, but i wanted to do this for the experience. I think this is something i cant realistically do without parental consent. (I am 16) Imagine what that conversation would be like... If i did it anyway it would be inevitable for them to find out. They are going to ask me why i am using the computer at 3am. Most parents would want their kids to sleep instead... I have read that it is theorectially more dangerous for someone my age, because of the relationships between puberty, hormones and sleep. It is the summer holidays now, and at my age i can really schedule my day however i want, so fitting in time for naps is no problem. Should i do it?

[Kula]

Originally posted by Placebo Anybody keen on trying this with me? Someone who can? I'd very much like to try this again during my Christmas break. That would be around the 18th i think. I plan to take naps at midnight, 8am and 4pm. What are your plans? Send me a PM if you like.

[Placebo]

Originally posted by Kula+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Kula)</div> I'd very much like to try this again during my Christmas break. That would be around the 18th i think. I plan to take naps at midnight, 8am and 4pm. What are your plans? Send me a PM if you like.[/b] Well, at least I might be of some moral support for you by that time I'm also doing a 4,8,12,4,8,12 cycle. Although my 4pm will have to shift a little to about 5pm... so I'll try move my 12pm to 12:30 to help it along. I've just done my first nap. Nothing monumental of course. At this point I'm worried about my eyes holding up. I have a problem with my eyes getting dry and sore very quickly, and the initial change-over isn't going to help any. <!--QuoteBegin-muse.v If you're interested the mailing list is: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/uberman/ Thanks, I'll have a look. Should i do it?[/b] No. If you have to ask... then no This is quite a crazy, masochistic thing to do, so you have to be pretty determined. And since we have no idea what long-term effects it has, especially on younger people, I have to say No. If you do it because you won't take No for an answer, well then I could understand. I'm sure my co-workers think I'm nuts.

[Barbizzle]

What is polypphasic sleep. I have never heard of it.

[Placebo]

Originally posted by Barbizzle What is polypphasic sleep. I have never heard of it. Polyphasic sleep aka Uberman sleep: Explanation of Uberman sleep Steve Pavlina's successful polyphasic sleep experiment

[Barbizzle]

Lol the first link doesnt work, what is it?

[Placebo]

Originally posted by Barbizzle Lol the first link doesnt work, what is it? Sorry, fixed the link In one sentence: Its a way of minimising your non-REM and maximising your REM with multiple short sleep periods rather than one long nighttime period. And gaining a hellova lot of time in the process. Most primates sleep like this, except us. Babies sleep like this. So did Pythagoras and Da Vinci.. I really suggest the link, it explains it better. Or read about it here: http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/10/p...lyphasic-sleep/ And the second of my previous links is his final post after trying it.

[Tornado Joe]

Wow, this all sounds facinating - I printed out the article and will read up on this a bit later. I'm all for longer REM periods (as I'm sure as lucid dreamers we all are), however, cutting down on the benefits of non-REM sleep (particularly the healing parts of stage 3) sounds a bit like a health risk. Maybe it's not as important in middle-aged people, but the growth hormone is definitely a necessity in youths and adolecents. I wouldn't recommend this to those of you still in the growth stage. But - I haven't read up on this yet, so I could be wrong. Just my first impression here. Thanks for the links and info!

[Placebo]

Well, you got the jist right. Young people should NOT try this. The problem is that there is virtually no research into the long term negative effects. There have been cases of people going for a number of years like this, but they usuall do an occasional 'reboot' (a full night's sleep). But it could stunt growth for all we know. One the other hand, so few people manage to get this right, that it's normally not a problem My first attempt has already failed on the beginning of the second day. I slept right through 30 minutes of a blaring alarm. That gives you an idea of how tired you get. It seems worse than simply going through the night, maybe because you're taunting your body. My first attempt blog : http://placebo.serv.co.za/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3 My second attempt blog : http://placebo.serv.co.za/forum/viewtopic.php?p=10

[Placebo]

I'm insane to do this. Somebody put me out of my misery.

[AlternateReality]

i want to try it over the summer but i'm only 15

[Placebo]

I really don't recommend it for young people, but it's your life. For all we know it has no negative impact. But we can't be sure. Also keep in mind that if you have even the slightest possiblity of throwing in the towel if you feel bad enough... you will . The first week isn't a picnic. If you're still interested, against your common sense () I suggest looking at those links. I also have a few tips and a good MP3 helper posted on my second attempt forum thread.

[AlternateReality]

well i planned on taking two naps then three then four so i could get used to it instead of just jumping in.