Thread: Attempt Polyphasic Sleeping

Due to the popular concept, of which can be found
here, I have taken the liberty to come up with a small briefing to organise this whole idea.

What is polyphasic sleeping?
Polyphasic sleeping is the act of splitting up your regular 8 hour “core” sleep into several “pieces”.
There are different classifications of polyphasic sleeping which vary around the way in which the core sleep is split up.

Uberman Sleep Schedule- Having several equal naps at set intervals during the day. E.g:
Sleep periods of 30 minutes, every 4 hours.
00:00–00:30 | 04:00–04:30 | 08:00 – 08:30 | 12:00 – 12:30 | 16:00 – 16:30 | 20:00 – 20:30

Everyman Sleep Schedule- Having several equal naps at different times of the day with the addition of a longer core sleep. E.g:
1 Core nap of 1.5 hours then 5, 20 minute naps.
00:00 – 01:30 | 03:00 – 03:20 | 08:00 – 08:20 | 13:00 – 13:20 | 17:00 – 17:20 | 22:00 – 22:20

Your brain goes through 5 stages as you enter sleep, however, the stage that is considered the most valuable to the body and mind is the REM stage, the aim of doing this schedule is to get your brain used to shortening the first 4 stages of sleep which aren't supposed to be as essential and concentrating on the REM stage, and after the “training” process, thus making you able to go an entire 24-hour-day having taken 3 or 4 hours of sleep and still feeling awake and refreshed.

What is your idea about?
Many people find polyphasic sleep difficult to dedicate to, because of lack of motivation, when you are set to a strict schedule of naps every 4 hours then it isn't going to be easy for you to work a comfortable social life for a couple weeks. You may also find that during your late waking hours (from 1am to 7am) will be very lonesome and tedious for yourself.

My idea allows you to go into attempting polyphasic sleep- fully motived along side other equally motivated peers, and by the way we will work the schedule- everybody on the program, wherever they are in the world, will be sleeping at the same times and will be awake at the same times, allowing them to come onto DreamViews' live chat and discuss how everything is going.

You're more likely to succeed with the schedule if you aren't alone.

Why are you doing this?
I myself am interested in attempting polyphasic sleep and I feel that the loneliness and boredom of being awake in the wee-hours of the morning will get the better of me and I will easily fail. I can understand that the concept of trying this whole thing as a team not only gives me and everyone else at DreamView's a MUCH better chance at doing something that they really want to do but also brings together the community and allows you to get to know each other personally.

Are there any risks?
Unfortunately, there are several risks that should be adhered to during the first hard 2 weeks of strict schedule- depression is HIGHLY likely in this situation, short-tempered attitude, lack of concentration, lack of motivation and energy. Also, however unlikely, it is still very plausible that narcolepsy and schizophrenia can occur in these situations.

You must take this very seriously and make sure that you aren't putting yourself in danger and you ensure that you plan the weeks out and lead a healthy lifestyle throughout.

What should I try to do?
As I just mentioned, you must ensure that you don't put yourself at risk when attempting polyphasic sleep, you can do this by reading up as much as you can about the sleep and other people's experiences, understanding more how it works, understanding yourself and ensuring that you are in both physical and mental condition before you start the schedule, I HIGHLY recommend you change your diet if it's unhealthy before you start- ensure you eat a fruit and vegetable rich diet and equal times of the day, make sure you are ready to do polyphasic sleeping- don't worry if you're ill or just not ready by the time several people at DreamViews start as there will be more organised schedules in the future, also make sure you're comfortable with changing your lifestyle and always remember to keep hydrated and drink plenty of water to help your brain function.
I also recommend you consult a GP/doctor about your plans and get info from them about diet and safety.

If at any point of the schedule you feel way too pressured and you are feeling exhausted/very nauseous then you should immediately terminate the schedule and allow your body to catch up with a regular long rest.

Can I do it?
Of course you can! Anyone at DreamViews who follow the rules and know they are ready- physically, mentally and socially can start the schedule.

When can I start?
As soon as everything has been sorted out, after polls have been taken and everyone has decided on the best times- you can start at the same time as everyone else.





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Who would be interested in doing this?


I've made this thread just to get everyone aware, I'll make a poll after some people have replied.
Put this thread's link in your signiture if you'd like to get started sooner please!

Thanks very much to anyone that can get involved!
Jim.

I'm in.

But I'd like to add to the risks: For those of you who are not yet adults and may still be growing, doing a sleep schedule like this may put your body under stress, and a growing body under stress will not grow as much. So if you're 15 and you'd like to be tall, don't experiment with this. Or keep your experiment brief.

Originally Posted by AlexLou

I'm in.

But I'd like to add to the risks: For those of you who are not yet adults and may still be growing, doing a sleep schedule like this may put your body under stress, and a growing body under stress will not grow as much. So if you're 15 and you'd like to be tall, don't experiment with this. Or keep your experiment brief.

Yes! I completely forgot about conditional things like that.
Noted
Also pregnancy and if you are taking certain kinds of medication, both big ones too.

Thank for the support =]
Jim.

Depending on when it will take place, I might give it a go!

However, I'm still very uncertain about the actual healthiness of the whole thing. I have read a lot about polyphasic sleep, and one link I read (can't remember where I found it I'm afraid...) seemed to make sense when it explained very scientifically why polyphasic sleep was bad for your health.

Oh, I found it again, so here it is: http://www.supermemo.com/articles/polyphasic.htm . But if you feel like it's a bit long, maybe reading only the Polyphasic sleep for dummies part: http://www.supermemo.com/articles/po...0for%20dummies

If someone has a link to a scientific explanation that evidences that the link above is just a bunch of inconsistencies, I'd be glad to give it a read!

Until then, I'll think about this polyphasic sleep experiment or not. But it's a great idea to gather people on DreamViews to attempt this. Maybe we can do it a bit like Battle Royale: 42 people in a forum and having to fight against sleep until there is only one polyphasic sleeper left!

I'm going to have to look into this a little more and assess my lifestyle before I try it, but I am very interested.

I'll be honest, I have only skimmed this idea so ar but it sounds good, summer holidays for me so I have some very flexible hours, don't worry I'm nearly 18, going to uni soon yeah yeah yeah, but I digest (family guy joke). Long story short, I could very well be in.