The Polyphasic Sleep Experiment

Hi there,

This is a thread on an experiment that I'm undertaking on the Polyphasic method of sleeping. First of all some definitions:

Monophasic Sleep - Sleeping for 6-9hrs in one chunk, usually at night.

Polyphasic Sleep - Sleeping for 20-30mins at a time, 6 times per 24 hr period.


So why would I want to take 20-30min naps 6 times a day rather than sleeping the "normal" sleeping pattern? The answer is TIME. If the experiment is successful, then I will have effectively "created" an extra 5hrs a day just on the having less sleep alone. Other practitioners of the method report that during their waking hours they are actually more alert, despite sleeping many less hours per night than the average joe, therefore the hours that I am awake should also be more productive.

The experiment was inspired by a series of articles written by a self development coach called Steve Pavlina - you can read his initial article and the follow up articles using the links at the bottom of the first one:

http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/10/polyphasic-sleep/


Some of you will no doubt say I'm mad, I'm messing with my health, I'm asking for diabetes, etc, etc. That's fine. I had the same objections before beginning this experiment, and I still have those same worries (that this might adversely affect my health). But the fact is that there have been no long term studies on the effects of polyphasic sleep, therefore in a way this is venturing into unknown areas, although I am reassured somewhat by the postings of those who have successfully undertaken the same experiment and have had immensely positive results.

My sleeping plan at the minute, which is subject to adjustment around working hours – 30mins at the following times:
6am, 10am, 2pm, 6pm, 10pm, 2am, etc

I’ve had my first two naps at 6pm yesterday and at 10pm, and my next is at 2am (so less than 90mins to go).

One thing that I’m noticing, and I hope that this will be maintained throughout the experiment, is that the hours that I am awake, I feel more obligated to be productive – knowing that I’ve got to go to sleep in a short time, and also I don’t want to waste the extra time that I’m given.

From practitioners articles and blogs, this first week is going to be VERY tough as the body and mind adjust to the new sleeping pattern, but once one gets past the first week, then it becomes a lot easier to maintain the regime, and the benefits become more evident.

There is a majority chance that I don’t make it past the first week. I may not even make it past the first few days! But I’m willing to give this a shot, and if I tell you guys about it, then I’m far more likely to follow through. I’ll keep you posted here on this thread from time to time as the experiment progresses, if indeed it does progress.

Best Regards,

NFRR
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Comments

  • O, just spotted the title of this forum group has changed from "General" to "General running" - so just to create the running link, I'm running twice per day, erm, per 24hr period, so will be interesting to see how the body recovers and responds to running on the limited sleep....
  • kinda pointless - how constructive is being awake in 4 hour blocks, the advantages all go out the window if you ever want to do something that takes more than 4 hours at any time.

    How are you gonna fit an ultra in?

    or a day out with the family.

    sounds like a huge waste of time to me regardless of whether it works or not, but each to their own.
  • sounds like a huge waste of time to me regardless of whether it works or not

    LOL - the irony is that if it does work, then the opposite is true, ie, sleeping an extra 5hrs a night would be a hugh waste of time!

    I don't plan on doing any ultras, and by the time I get to the marathon, I plan to do it in less than 4hrs (you can extend the blocks by up to an hour). And I don't live with any family, I'm young and single, living in a houseshare.

    With regards to doing any activity that takes more than 4hrs, I agree, this is a challenge - a lot of that can be avoided though with good planning, or one can stop to take a nap in the middle of doing it, then continue on where one left off. We'll see, that will be part of the experiment, and if there are any challenges like that, I'll detail them here.

  • Ignore Jason X. You are very brave! Sooner you than me.

    Good luck. I am curious. I will be interested to read how it's going, and how it feels, and your conclusions, and whether you propose to keep it up in the longer term or abandon the project altogether. Please keep us all posted periodically if you have time.

    I suggest you scribble down notes charting the experience from day to day, in case you decide to write a book about it later on.



  • It may well be possible but the effectiveness of what you can achieve with your life will go out the window.

    I have not done this exactly but in a previous working life I have had extended periods where I had very little sleep and often napped.
  • Thankyou Hugh and WA.

    I've had difficulty dropping off in my previous 2 nap periods - its felt like I'm lying awake. Perhaps in my next nap at 6am, I'll be sufficiently tired to drop off straight away. I guess the problem is that when I try to go to sleep, my head is buzzing, perhaps from the excitement of starting a new adventure. Now I'm hungry, need to go and get some food. Question - what meal am I about to eat? I'll have brekkie after my run at about 7am, lunch at about 12, and dinner at 7pm ish. I guess this is pre-breakfast....
  • sounds like you need to move to the "5 small meals" eating pattern :-)

    Good luck with the experiment
  • Jason
    hahahaha
    Trust you to mention an ultra


    er, Ive done this as a junior doc over a 3 day peroid
    Im afraid i wouldnt recommend it
  • JjJj ✭✭✭
    I suppose choice might be a positive part of this. But do expect to get very baggy eyes, pale skin and a vacant expression, won't you...



    [pads off, looking pale and vacant]
  • WA and Hipps, I think the key thing about what I'm doing is that its a structured long term program - as a pose to just trying to fit in stints of sleep as work and other commitments allow. If you've read the article posted above, and look at some of the blogs, the major thing that makes this work is consistency, and allowing the body to adapt to expect 20-30min naps at the same times every day, therefore the mind drops into REM sleep very rapidly.

    After two naps that didn't happen - at 10pm and 2am - I just lay there unable to sleep - I managed to pin down a key distraction - I have a very loud clock in my room, so after having been unable to get to sleep for 15mins at my 6am nap, I took the battery out, put my head down, and dropped off straight away. Now considering in the past 24hrs I've only had 1hrs sleep, I feel fairly refreshed. I've just been for a run, and although it wasn't the most bounding run I've ever done, it wasn't a bad one either.

    2hrs until my next nap. Time for some porridge and honey....
  • how do you wake yourself up?
  • I don't wake myself up - the alarm clock on my phone does! Apparently when your body makes the adjustment, you begin to automatically awake after 20-30mins without the need for an alarm clock

  • As you are 'going against nature' (we have evolved to sleep during the hours of darkness), I expect your body will tell you eventually in some way or other that it isn't happy with what you are doing to it. But we will see.

    I should also have said, I hope you aren't combining any driving with this experiment?

  • Strikes me as a way to greatly reduce your quality of life. Even if you manage to add six hours to your day, what can you do with it that's of any use if you need to rush home every few hours for 30 mins kip?

    It's a big project though, just like the NI running shop, the 2:12 marathon, etc. Will be interesting to see if you get anything out of this one.
  • HJ - apparently many animal species sleep polyphasically.

    Quote: Venom It's a big project though, just like the NI running shop, the 2:12 marathon, etc.

    It is indeed a big project. Ftr, the running shop is still on and I'm getting ever closer to realising that - just not as quickly as initially hoped. And I may never do 2:12, but I'm gonna give it a damn good go (I'm running twice a day currently, building to 100+mpw). Those and this current project are all part of my self development.
  • NessieNessie ✭✭✭
    Hi RR.

    Interesting, and I have to say, rather you than me. But good on you for having an open mind and giving it a crack.

    Can't say I'd relish being awake at 4am in winter, unable to go for a run, work not open, carp on the telly, not able to do the hoovering in case I woke someone, etc., but if it suits your lifestyle, why not?

    How long does the experiment last? When will you know if it has "worked" or if it is "bad for you"?

  • Many animal species also hibernate for months through the winter - doesn't mean it's a recommendation for humans (although at this time of year it's very appealing).

    NFRR, have you raced recently then? What kind of times are you running?

    By the way, your computer business page doesn't work very well in Opera.
  • You're obviously as mad as a hatter.

    So what if you got extra time each day - who the hell wants to be awake at 4am? It's getting extra time in for its own sake, surely.

    We are awake during the day and asleep at night. It's a nice arrangement and society caters for this norm.

    There's no pressing need to be awake for an extra five hours a day is there? Are you a surgeon and trying to clear a backlog of patients or something? Sounds like the sort of thing a student would try.

    Totally hatstand.
  • north finchley road runner which athletic club are you a member of?
  • Not something that would work well with a 9-5 job...
  • You could sleep at lunchtime. That'll be 2 4 hour chunks.


    I'd be interested in the results. I've become quite attached to my Saturday lunch time naps. I hope I'm not becoming a sleep camel though!
  • I'll be interested in the results but I find myself agreeing with what others have already said (ie, just because it suits some animals it does not mean that it suits humans, etc.).

    Good luck though, and let us know how you get on!
  • RR.. you should start a blog... i have a feeling this thread will grow quickly and that makes it difficult to follow.

    at least on a blog we can see your entries and only read the comments if we choose!
  • Nessie: The experiment lasts for, hopefully, at least a week. I'm taking it day at a time and monitoring how and if my body makes the adjustment.

    Venom: I've not raced. Although I made that very bold 2:12 statement a long time ago now, I only fairly recently started training at the level that I am now. I've been training most days for the past 3½ months, in fact I had a 45 day no rest streak before Christmas. So running is going pretty well. I don't plan to race any time soon yet either - not until I've built and maintained a very strong base that I can then tune and sharpen in subsequent phases (am following a Lydiard style schedule). And my "computer business" webpage was an experiment - I never followed that through, so its not and never has been an active business.

    B (Ewok’s mate): ROFLMAO! Sorry mate, I’ve got to write a lecture on this one! As stated previously, I'm doing this experiment as part of my self development. What would I do with 5hrs a day, and what would I do at 4am in the morning? READ! Digest information. Study. Learn more about the human mind and body. Study more about Running and Sport Science. Study toward my BSc Hon Computing (YES, I am a student, albeit a part/time one). Its not about freeing up time for the sake of freeing up time - IF the experiment is successful, and IF my body makes a successful adjustment, then that extra time is poured into further developing myself and my skills and talents.

    I laughed at your statement "Sleeping at night is a nice normal social arrangment"- tell that to a fulltime nightshift worker!! Just because something is normal and 'acceptable', does that therefore make it unacceptable to go against that social norm and try something a bit different in the interest of ones self development and the possibility to open the minds of others? I've always believed that I'm mad as a hatter - in fact I regularly get people telling me so. Most of my colleagues (I work in a running shop) think I'm mad for running in watersports socks with half a mm of rubber between my foot and the ground. I think they're mad for running a pair of high heels (typical cushioned supportive running shoe), yet I'm running more efficiently with fewer injuries! (I’ve opened my mind to the Pose/Pirie methods of running, both of which advocate running in such a minimalist shoe)

    Its normal and socially acceptable for the average joe to go into work the morning, work an 8hr day with a 30min lunch and go home and switch off, or do personal things. I arrive in work an hour early, work an hour late (sometimes with no lunch), and when I get home, I continue to work (current project is a full staff development program). A heck of a lot of those hours I don't claim for. Why? Because I'm passionate. Passionate about the job, and passionate about people. Its not normal to be passionate about ones job in todays frivilous money oriented society (although respect for those who are!).

    corredor rapido: I’ve recently moved to where I am now, and have been going along to Trent Park Running Club for a couple of weeks now, so will probably join them. The average member may not be at the level of competitiveness of other clubs in the locality, but it’s a good social club, and given the nature of my job, I need to consider that some of my colleagues are members of more competitive clubs, and I want the shop representation at Trent Park.

    SVT: – I work a 9:15 to 6:15 job – one major challenge will be fitting the naps around this. I’ll probably run into work, crash on the big sofas for 20-30 before work, have a nap in the back on my lunch hour, and then before running home have another 20-30mins on the sofas.

    ed: Good idea, I’ll get started on setting one up when I get time ;-)
  • For me, part of this experiment is to challenge what’s deemed as socially acceptable. Perhaps I will find out that polyphasic sleep just doesn’t work. And any good scientist would tell you that’s still a result! But in the same way that I’ve experiment with the Pose method of running, I’m willing to experiment with this, I’m willing to have an open mind and try something a bit different. I would NOT be trying this were it not for the testimonials of others who have successfully adopted this, apologies for repeating myself, but most practitioners after the adjustment experienced MORE energy, MORE alertness, LESS tiredness.
  • AH Bugger, didn't mean to post all of that first post in bold!!
  • It's not unacceptable to go against social conventions, but I tell you what ... it can make your life a damn sight easier when it comes to sleeping!

    Lots of people lead fulfilling lives without having to make awkward arrangements over when to go to sleep. Just how much information do you need to absorb? If you lived to be 200 and slept 5 minutes a night you'd never learn anything. You're not freeing up time for its own sake ... you're freeing up time so you learn for its own sake!

    I have no problems with people questioning the status quo, or finding new ways of doing things. But I think some things don't need to be questioned, or that there are some things that are off limits.

    Good luck, but I can see this one ending in tears. Hope you don't operate heavy machinery or drive!
  • I love my sleep so this would not be for me. My mind is open to this being possible for a largely sedentary person, but have you considered the effect of this on athletic performance?

    I've lifted this from somewhere:

    "Get enough rest to recover from training. Recovery happens during times of rest. During recovery the body mends the damage of training and grows a little stronger than before. While sleeping, growth hormone is released which is necessary for the body to regenerate. Damaged cells take longer to heal raising the risk of injury and illness. Rest time is also when glycogen stores are replenished between workouts, not allowing adequate rest leads to decay in endurance performance. If the training workload remains high with decreased sleep time, overtraining becomes a real threat. Just like injury, overtraining can destroy a training schedule and demoralize the athlete. I believe that most athletes don’t rest enough. Most amateurs, especially those with families and demanding jobs, try to squeeze more workouts into the day. This often means that sleep time is cut."
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