Sleep for 20 minutes every 4 hours. How to switch to polyphasic sleep. So, what do we know about the double dream of our ancestors

I have long been interested in polyphasic sleep cycles and now I decided to start such a regime..

Most people think that there is only one way to sleep: go to bed at night for 6-8 hours, get up in the morning, be active 16-18 hours, and all over again. In fact, this is called the monophasic sleep cycle, one of the five major sleep cycles that have been used successfully for centuries. The other 4 are considered polyphasic sleep cycles due to the fact that they require multiple naps each day. How is this possible? How does this affect health? Well, the most important point in each sleep cycle is phase 5 REM (rapid eye movement phase), which benefits the brain from sleep more than all other phases. When switching to a polyphasic cycle, the lack of sleep causes the body to enter the REM phase immediately instead of the 45-75 minutes of monophasic sleep. So you still get the benefit of 8 hours of sleep without wasting time transitioning into REM phases, resulting in much more efficient cycle sleep.

Goal Accomplishment Criteria

During the month, sleep on this cycle 4.5 hours or less

personal resources

Time, knowledge in the field

Goal ecological compatibility

Achieving the goal I need for

1. Extra time:

1) the best quality of the main work, since I will do it not only in the office, but also at home, as a result I will get a promotion;

2) doing things for yourself and at home, which constantly appear;

3) I will start to seriously engage in 1C freelancing in order to increase my income and skills;

2. Test for willpower: I will prove to myself that I can do everything.

3. Increased the chance to become lucid in a dream during the short phase.

One of the features of lucid dreaming is the ability to experience situations that are impossible in ordinary life, find ways out of them and, evaluating their own reactions, use the information received for introspection and self-knowledge on different stages the formation of personality.

There is a belief that polyphasic sleep techniques can increase the amount of time you are awake and reduce the amount of time you spend sleeping up to 4 or 6 hours a night, and possibly even up to 2.

Polyphasic sleep is the practice of sleeping multiple times in a 24-hour period, usually more than twice, as opposed to biphasic sleep (twice a day) or monophasic sleep (once a day).

On the this moment There are no studies on polyphasic sleep. Few activists try these polyphasic sleep techniques on themselves.

The most common polyphasic sleep techniques, there are 5 of them:

1. "Dymaxion". Sleep only 2 hours a day. 30 minutes of sleep every 6 hours.

2. "Uberman". Sleep like in Dymaxion only 2 hours a day, only here you need to sleep 20 minutes every 4 hours.

3. "Everyman". Here it is supposed to sleep 2-3 hours at night and 3 times a day for 20 minutes.

4. "Siesta". A very common technique in which you need to sleep 1 hour at lunchtime and once at night for a duration of 5 hours.

5. Tesla. afternoon nap- 20 minutes and 2 hours of sleep at night.

Let's take a closer look at these polyphasic sleep techniques.

1. Dymaxion.

The term "Dymaxion" means the concept of using technologies and resources to their maximum power with a minimum use of resources.

The Dymaxion sleep schedule involves sleeping 4 times a day for 30 minutes, every 6 hours, usually at or around the 6 o'clock mark.

So, sleep at 6 am, 12 noon, 6 pm and 12 am for about 30 minutes. Of course, this is consistent with general terms polyphasic sleep.

Obviously, this translates into a total of 2 hours of nap time, the same amount obtained with Uberman's polyphasic sleep technique. It turns out that the body simply needs the absolute minimum of 2 hours of sleep each day.

The scientists found that many had problems following this sleep schedule. It is believed that the break between sleeps at 6 hours is difficult to adapt, and 30 minutes of sleep is more of an adjustment.

2. Uberman

Many believe that Leonardo da Vinci took control of time throughout the day with Uberman's polyphasic sleep technique. By at least he did not devote part of his life to a normal night sleep. In general, the beliefs of some about how Da Vinci slept is the basis for Uberman's polyphasic sleep technique.

The Uberman sleep schedule consists of 6 sleep parts of 20 minutes in equal increments. Every 4 hours there is a 20-minute sleep, we can say that a person only has time to take a nap during this time.

That's all. No other sleep at night.

Adapting to such a regime is extremely difficult. If you or someone you know is going to try out polyphasic sleep, it's worth looking at other, more advanced sleep patterns first. simple techniques polyphasic sleep before moving on to the Uberman technique.

3. Everyman (everyman sleep).

The term "Everyman" was coined by the same person who coined the term Uberman.

Most people work during the day. A relatively normal working day is 8 hours, although many people work a little more.

Many polyphasic sleep techniques are very inconvenient. Everyman is designed to work around normal life of people.

It consists of a period of sleep at night, when people are already accustomed to sleeping, and then a limited number of naps during the day, usually three.

In the "traditional" Everyman technique, the sleep schedule is a basic period of 3 hours of sleep from 1 am to 4 am, followed by 20 minutes each at 9 am, 2 pm, and 9 pm.

But, for a working person, a more suitable sleep schedule is from about 11 pm to 2 am, then 20 minutes at 7 am, at 12 pm, and at 6 pm.

If you're interested or just want to experiment with polyphasic sleep but aren't sure if you can do it, then the Everyman technique might be good choice For you.

4. Siesta.

Siesta is the most common polyphasic sleep technique and involves two separate segments of sleep during the day - once at night, and once in the middle of the day.

There are three different biphasic graphs.

"Power Siesta" which involves sleeping 20 minutes in the middle of the day and 5-6 hours at night, and the more common "Long Siesta" involving 4.5-5.5 hours of sleep at night and 60-90 minutes of sleep during of the day, and of course segmented sleep (which we will not talk about in this article).

5 Tesla.

Tesla is one of the greatest inventors in the world, he claimed to get only 2-3 hours of sleep a day.

“I don’t think there is a better feeling that goes through the human heart than that I felt like an inventor when you see the creation in the brain and everything unfolds to success ... such emotions make a man forget food, sleep, friends, love, all."
~ Nikola Tesla.

This method involves being awake for almost 22 hours every day: sleeping 1.5 - 2 hours a day and taking a nap for 15 - 20 minutes every four hours of wakefulness. If Tesla claims to have only slept 2 or so hours a day, he may have tried this method too.

Tesla is often compared to another famous inventor, Thomas Edison, who claims to get only 4-5 hours of sleep per night.

So we examined the most common polyphasic sleep techniques, before you start using these techniques, it is worth remembering that side effects from polyphasic sleep are not yet fully understood.

Almost a third of their lives people spend on sleep. This process is vital for every person, although in itself it is still rather poorly understood. And while some people sleep eight, nine and even eleven hours a day, others need literally four to five hours to get enough sleep. It has long been known about people who spend on sleep, firstly, unrealistic (in terms of ordinary person) there is little time, and secondly, their sleep and wakefulness patterns cannot be squeezed into the framework of any schedule.

In the USA there is the National Sleep Organization, where experts study all the features of this process. According to their research, for the average person, the best amount of time to sleep is 7-10 hours per night. However, other sleep cycles have been discovered and studied, in which the time for sleep is significantly reduced. The question arises: is it possible, spending only a few hours in a dream, to benefit from it and fully relax?

Most people are familiar with the monophasic sleep cycle. It is he who is used in life by many of us, and besides him, for the most part, we know practically nothing. But this cycle is actually not suitable for everyone, although it seems very practical. And besides it, there are four more sleep cycles, characterized by the fact that much less time is spent on sleep, but beneficial features dreams remain and manifest even more. These cycles are suitable for those who prefer not to spend almost half of the day on sleep, but to devote this time to some useful deeds. Below we will introduce you to all the sleep cycles that are known to man today.

monophasic sleep cycle

The monophasic sleep cycle, as already mentioned, is the cycle favored by most of all people. It may consist of various stages, but always consists of one phase. The most important thing in this cycle is the achievement by the human body of the state of rapid eye movement - the state when the person's consciousness is already asleep, and his body functions as efficiently as possible, because. the rapid eye movement stage helps the body perform health and body functions. And this stage is reached approximately an hour and a half after falling asleep.

People who follow a monophasic cycle, as a rule, go to bed in the evening (11-12 hours), sleep from 7 to 10 hours and wake up in the morning. It should be clarified: if a person’s activity is associated with a shift mode of work, then, being awake at night, he will sleep during the day, following the same cycle. So, a person wakes up, feels quite well and is ready for a new labor day. Here it is worth noting that researchers still do not fully understand why a person needs sleep at all, even if he leads a passive lifestyle, but through observation of animals, it was concluded that sleep is a process necessary for survival.

Biphasic sleep cycle

The biphasic sleep cycle is the first cycle that belongs to the polyphasic sleep cycles, and is the most common of them. At the same time, it is the most practical and convenient for any person to implement. The biphasic cycle consists of two phases: the first phase is a 5-6 hour sleep, the second phase is a sleep that takes from 20 to 90 minutes. As a result, it turns out that total time sleep can vary from about 5.5 to 10 hours per night.

If we consider this cycle from the point of view positive impact on the body, then we can safely say (based on the results scientific research) that it is significantly more efficient than a monophasic cycle, because not only has a better effect on health, but also improves mood, stimulates the brain, reduces stress and increases the quality indicator of human productivity. Some scientists are even inclined to believe that the biphasic cycle also has a developing effect, i.e. makes a person smarter.

Everyday sleep cycle

The ordinary sleep cycle is a cycle that can suit anyone, just like the biphasic one. But it differs in that it consists of one long phase of sleep, which takes about 3.5 hours, and three short phases of 20 minutes during the day. The philistine cycle was designed specifically to counter those declines in our brain activity, which are caused by biorhythms familiar to us: circadian, i.e. diurnal and ultradian, the period of wakefulness in which is less than a day.

As a suitable example, the following schedule can be used: the first phase runs from 21:00 to 00:30, and the next three at 04:10, 08:10 and 14:10. It is important to note here that you can not sleep early morning, for example, from 03:00 to 06:30, because it is at this time that the likelihood that sleep will be of high quality is very small, which in turn is due to the peculiarities of the circadian biorhythm.

Dimaxion cycle

The Dimaxion cycle is considered the most difficult to implement - only people who have the gene can use it. short sleep DEC2. Such people are classified as "sleepless" and for good sleep they only need one phase of sleep, lasting 4 hours. That is why the Dymaxion cycle is possible for them.

But one should not think that for other people this cycle is unrealistic. In fact, absolutely anyone can use it, it’s just that, most likely, it will turn out to be ineffective. The fact is that in the stage of rapid eye movement, which we talked about above, an ordinary person must spend a certain amount of time. And since the Dimaxion cycle includes absolutely little time for sleep, which we will discuss later, the body of an ordinary person simply does not have enough time to rest.

The Dimaxion cycle includes 4 phases of 30 minutes each different time days, which, in general, is only 2 hours a day! But there are people who managed to adapt to the Dimaxon cycle in a slightly different way: their day includes one phase lasting 1.5 hours, two phases of 30 minutes each and another phase of 20 minutes. Total almost 3 hours a day.

Uberman cycle

The Uberman cycle is also called the Superman cycle. This cycle seems even more fantastic, because. it consists of six phases of sleep for 20 minutes, which again gives a total of 2 hours a day. Each phase is separated from the previous one by an equal time period, for example at 00:00, 04:00, 08:00, 12:00, 16:00 and 20:00. Sometimes people add two more phases of 20 minutes to these six phases. Then the following picture is obtained: a person should sleep for 20 minutes, for example, at 00:00, 03:00, 06:00, 09:00, 12:00, 15:00, 18:00 and 21:00. It is important to keep in mind that an additional 40 minutes, “located” in the cycle incorrectly, can knock it down, as a result of which the cycle will become ineffective. Uberman cycle users say that any missed 20 minutes of sleep can lead to a state of tiredness, fatigue, exhaustion and a desire to get to bed sooner. Therefore, following the established schedule is very important.

The presented cycle can be quite difficult to use, because. the daily routine of many people (work schedule, etc.) can become a significant obstacle to its implementation. If you decide to "become a superhuman", be sure to think through all the details. And one more thing: people who use the Uberman cycle notice that this cycle has a very beneficial effect on the practice of lucid dreams - they become brighter and "alive".

What to choose?

The question of which cycle to choose for yourself is very relevant. The answer to it depends solely on the specifics of your lifestyle. And if the first two polyphasic cycles are more adapted for use, then the Dimaxion and Uberman cycles are much more difficult to introduce into your life. In addition, if you choose them, then be prepared that until you fully adapt (up to 10 days), you will be in a somewhat inhibited state.

In conclusion, I would like to add a few recommendations that will help you adjust to any cycle as quickly as possible and without “complications”:

• Freeing up time for wakefulness, you should know what you will be doing in your new free hours;
• To adapt to the cycle, it is desirable to have 2-3 more or less free weeks at your disposal. Otherwise new mode may adversely affect your operations;
• If you start adjusting to new cycle, in any case, do not quit. At first it can be quite difficult, but over time the body adapts and becomes easier. Starting to adhere to any schedule, do not change the time and do not skip sleep phases, otherwise you will have to start all over again;
• Keep in mind that you need to fall asleep in suitable conditions for this, and use an alarm clock to wake up, sunlight, music, etc.;
• stick correct mode diet and try to eat less fatty foods.

Everything else depends only on your desire and perseverance!

Have you ever wanted to try a new sleep cycle? What did you find most interesting?

Polyphasic sleep is one of the sleep patterns that does not involve the traditional eight hours of sleep all night (monophasic sleep), but several planned and well-defined periods of sleep throughout the 24 hours. As a result, you sleep much more often (several times a day), but less in time. Supporters of the polyphasic sleep regimen are pleased that they have several hours of free time per day, which they used to inevitably spend on sleep. However, it is worth noting that this sleep mode is not suitable for everyone. Sometimes the military and some athletes resort to polyphasic sleep.

Steps

Part 1

Choose the sleep mode that suits you best. During preparation, you need to understand which mode is best for you, based on your goal, class schedule or work, as well as general condition organism. There are four main modes of polyphasic sleep:

• Biphasic sleep, Everyman mode, Dymaxion mode and Uberman.
• Two of them are designed for sleep both at night and in daytime. These include biphasic sleep and Everyman mode.
• The simplest and safe way switch to polyphasic sleep - start by reducing sleep at night using one of these modes.

1. Consider biphasic sleep. The essence of this mode is that the sleep time is divided into two segments. Usually, the longer segment falls at night, and the smaller segment (lasting 20-30 minutes or 90 minutes) falls on the first half of the day. In many cultures, this sleep routine is widely used because it not only saves time on sleep, but is also a neutral option in terms of health.

   • The shorter the daytime segment of sleep (a nap that allows you to recuperate), the longer the night segment will be (during which all phases of sleep pass, including the phase REM sleep).
   • Biphasic sleep has a number of advantages over other polyphasic sleep patterns because it has circadian rhythms and hormonal surges that help regulate sleep. Thanks to them, our body has adapted to sleep more at night than during the day.
   • Biphasic sleep is described in history as "first" and "second" sleep. In a time when people did not yet know how to use electricity, people slept for several hours immediately after dark, then were awake for several hours, and then went to bed again and woke up already at dawn with the first rays of the sun.
   • However, biphasic sleep is hardly suitable for those who want to free up as much time as possible for wakefulness, because in terms of sleep duration, this mode does not differ very much from the usual monophasic sleep pattern.

2. A handy benefit is the ability to create your own biphasic sleep schedule. Your sleep schedule will depend on your school and work schedule, as well as your overall health. Thus, you can get the most out of this mode and adapt it exactly for yourself.

   • So, break your sleep time into two segments. Each segment of sleep should be long enough to allow enough time for REM sleep. Usually a person needs about 5-6 periods of REM sleep during the day.
   • One normal cycle sleep (together with the REM phase) takes about 90 minutes. Make a schedule that each segment of sleep will include 90-minute cycles.
   • For example, your main sleep segment will last from 1 AM to 4:30 AM, and the second sleep segment could last 1.5 hours (from 12 PM to 1:30 PM) or 3 hours (from 12 PM to 3:00 PM). It all depends on your schedule and capabilities.
   • Once you are more or less accustomed to the new schedule, try to gradually reduce your sleep time until the sleep is short enough, but you still feel good and alert.
   • There should be a break between sleep segments (at least 3 hours).
   • It is important not to oversleep and not fall asleep ahead of time. Try to stick to your sleep schedule for at least a week before making any changes to it.

3. Consider the Everyman mode. This mode consists of a main sleep segment (about three hours) and three additional segments of 20 minutes each. If you still want to switch to polyphasic sleep, which will save even more time for being awake, this option will most likely suit you. This mode is easier to transition to as it still has the main 3 hour segment.

   Start gradually moving towards your schedule. Try to stick with it for at least a week. You will most likely have problems at first, because adjusting to a polyphasic sleep pattern is not so easy. Once you've adjusted and gotten a little used to your new schedule, you can break your 5 hours of sleep into 3 segments.

   • In this case, the main segment of sleep can last about 4 hours, and the additional two segments of 30 minutes each. If you work from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., split these segments so that they fall at lunch time and at the time you return from work.
   • Try to stick to the chosen mode for at least a week. Don't change the mode until you get used to it.
   • After a week or two, you can adjust your sleep schedule by shortening the main sleep segment and adding another segment.
   • Eventually, if you keep adjusting your sleep patterns, you will next result: main sleep segment (3.5 hours) + three more segments of 20 minutes each.
   • Distribute the time of sleep and wakefulness in such a way that it matches your study / work schedule as much as possible.

4. Stick to a sleep schedule. Try to strictly follow it, do not wake up and do not go to bed early. At first, it will not be easy, because the body will begin to adapt to the new regimen.

   • Don't worry if you can't stick to your routine at first. Some people find it harder to fall asleep, especially if every minute of sleep counts.
   • If you choose Everyman mode, be sure to stick to your schedule. Plan ahead for when you need to get ready for bed.
   • Plan in advance what you will be doing free time. It is unlikely that others also adhere to a polyphasic sleep pattern. Prepare ahead of time and make a to-do list. Focus on what you always wanted to do, but each time you did not have enough time for it. This will help you adjust to your new sleep pattern.

5. Adjust your schedule to suit you best. A very popular schedule is the division of sleep time into 4 segments, as already described above (the main segment of sleep and three additional ones). If necessary, you can adjust this schedule by rearranging the sleep segments to a different time.

   • This sleep pattern can be followed by other schedules.
   • According to one chart, a night's sleep is reduced to 1.5 hours (instead of four), and there are 5 additional twenty-minute segments. There should be equal intervals of time between them.

   Part 2

   Graphs without the main night sleep segment

   1. So, if you're willing to take the risk of cutting your sleep hours even further, consider switching to Uberman or Dymaxion modes. Both methods involve the rejection of the main segment of sleep (night). If you've already adjusted enough to your previous sleep schedule and want to try something even more extreme, you can switch to one of these modes. Keep in mind, according to these charts, sleep time is only 2 hours per night.

      • A significant disadvantage of these modes is the difficulty of observing the sleep schedule, since you need to adhere to the schedule very clearly.
      • Before switching to these modes, consider whether you can keep a sleep schedule every day (depending on study, work and family plans).
      • As mentioned above, these sleep patterns require about 2 hours of sleep per night.

   2. Make a schedule according to Uberman mode. It includes six sleep segments of 20 minutes each. There should be equal time intervals between these segments. The schedule must be strictly adhered to.

      • For example, you can arrange sleep segments as follows: 1:00 am, 5:00 am, 9:00 am, 1:00 pm, 5:00 pm, and 9:00 pm.
      • It is very important to sleep exactly 20 minutes and exactly according to the established schedule.
      • Uberman mode suggests 20 minutes of sleep every 4 hours.
      • If you find it very difficult to keep yourself awake, try to focus on your plans and the to-do list that you made in advance.

   3. Now consider the Dymaxion mode. It is very similar to the Uberman regime, but it is even more difficult to follow. The reason is that, there are fewer sleep segments, but they are longer in time.

   Part 3

   How to prepare for polyphasic mode sleep

   1. Learn to nap. The essence of polyphasic sleep is the division of the entire sleep time into several segments. As a result, such sleep takes less time than normal monophasic sleep. If you're going to try out this sleep pattern, it's important to stick to your schedule exactly.

      • Get into the habit of getting up earlier than usual, and during the day, don't be afraid to give in to the temptation to take a nap after dinner.
      • Try to turn off your computer and gadgets at least 15 minutes before bedtime so that the bright light of the monitor does not bother you.
      • Go to bed at the same time every day so that your body can quickly adapt to the new routine.
      • When you lie down to take a nap, your heart rate slows down. Mentally count 60 heartbeats, then try to hear another 60. After the heart rate has slowed down, try to clear your mind of any thoughts.
      • Set an alarm for certain time. When it rings, don't tell yourself, "5 more minutes." Get up as soon as the alarm rings.

   2. Reduce your nighttime sleep. Don't do it abruptly. Just gradually reduce the duration of your night's sleep.

      • Set your alarm 3 hours early first. Instead of sleeping 8 hours a night, sleep about 5 hours.
      • Stick to this schedule for three days.

   3. Set an alarm and stick to that sleep schedule. At first you will be a little uncomfortable, you will feel unusual. But over time, if you stick to the rules and wake up on time, the body will adapt to the new regimen.

      • Put your alarm clock away from your bed so you have to get up when you want to turn it off.
      • As soon as you get up, immediately turn on the light in the room.
      • If you have a lamp that mimics natural light, turn it on to wake up faster after each sleep segment.

   4. Think about your schedule. Before you divide sleep into segments, think about work, school, family, sports activities. Distribute everything in such a way that it is most convenient for you. Remember that the schedule must be adhered to very clearly!

      • It is important to consider the fact that no one will adjust to your schedule. Make sure you are able to sleep in the middle of the day and live according to your schedule.
      • Do not forget about unplanned events that you did not take into account in the schedule. There should be enough time in the schedule that you could squeeze some event into.

The article you are reading is a summary of over 20 chronological reports detailing the course of the polyphasic sleep experiment by American blogger and self-development guru Steve Pavlina.

If you're seriously interested in polyphasic sleep, and you're willing to spend a few hours reading one of the most detailed reports on the subject, you're in the right place: Polyphasic Sleep. For the rest - this digest.

The essence of polyphasic sleep is that instead of one long sleep per day, we sleep little by little, several times during the day. One of the popular polyphasic sleep patterns is the Uberman Mode, which breaks the day into 6 short (20-30 minute) periods of sleep, alternating with uniform (about 4 hours) periods of wakefulness. This means that the total sleep time is reduced to 2-3 hours per day.

Normal human sleep consists of 90-minute cycles, and each such cycle ends with REM sleep. REM is the most important phase of sleep, it is during it that we see dreams, and depriving a person of REM - phase, for a long time leads to serious nervous disorders. During the practice of polyphasic sleep, the body learns to enter REM immediately after falling asleep, and not at the end of the cycle. Therefore, the first week, while the body adapts to shortened sleep cycles, it will experience increased load. But then he will feel great, maybe even better than before.

0 day

Other than that, it's just a crazy idea. She's so crazy that I want to try. I am pushed to this step, first of all, by curiosity and the desire to test the strength of my self-discipline. Besides, it goes well with my other quirks.

I'm starting my polyphasic sleep experiment today, so last night was the last "normal" night. Today, as usual, I woke up at 5 am, and I will go to bed every 4 hours. In order not to oversleep, I will set a countdown timer for 30 minutes. I decided that I would go to bed at 1:00, 5:00, 9:00, 13:00, 17:00, 21:00. I intend to last at least until Halloween... or die, whichever comes first.

1 day

I've received several emails from people who have tried polyphasic sleep, but none of them fully adapted (didn't last more than a few days), so I'm wary of their advice.

My main strategic task now is to adapt, in other words, to withstand this mode a few days (approximately 4-7) until the body is rebuilt. The main tactical task is to find something to do for the current 3.5 hours, until the next break, so as not to focus on fatigue. The publication of these reports also helps to solve this problem.

2 day

I feel conscious and alert, but my brain is too tired to think properly. Most hard periods wakefulness - night (from 1:00 to 5:00). Cooking is well suited as an occupation at this time, while reading, on the contrary, drives one into a nap.

My skill to instantly wake up on an alarm clock and immediately get up, which I have already described in my blog, helps a lot. For myself, I decided that if I feel that I am close to falling from fatigue or drowsiness, I can try to somehow introduce an extra 20 minutes of sleep so as not to screw up the experiment completely.

There is practically no desire, apparently the stomach is also rebuilt. I immediately decided to give up coffee. The caffeine will certainly help short span, but likely to lengthen the adaptation period. Many reviews have advice to give up meat and heavy foods for the time of adaptation, but since I am already a vegan, I stick to my usual menu.

At one point, I spent an hour and a half lying on the couch and watching the movements of other family members. I feel like a half-dead zombie.

3 day

I am finally leaning towards the idea of ​​increasing the number of sleepovers from 6 to 8 or even 10 during the adaptation period, while leaving their duration the same. Last night I gave myself two extra 20 minute sleeps, and this probably allows me to still hold on, get up every time with an alarm and continue the experiment. Let me remind you that my goal is not to deprive myself of sleep and rest, but only deprivation of the REM phase, and only until adaptation has passed.

At the moment, since the beginning of the experiment, I have slept only 10 hours out of 80.

Day 4

Appetite began to return. Caught myself thinking what I feel hypersensitivity to the cold. It is cold for me to work in a room with the usual temperature (I had to increase it from 20 to 22 degrees) and I get cold while walking in clothes that are familiar to this temperature. I hope this is temporary.

In principle, I am already able to function normally and it's time to think about where to spend the freed time.

I began to think about the naturalness of our usual monophasic regimen. These thoughts are prompted by my 2-year-old son, who now lives in a regime that is very reminiscent of mine. It is possible that a monophasic sleep pattern is not so natural after all.

Day 5

It seems to me that people who think about switching to polyphasic sleep, driven by the desire to increase their productivity, are less likely to successfully pass the adaptation period. Increasing productivity in long term- bad motivation for most people. If this is your only goal, then there is a high probability that you will spit and break loose after several days of lack of sleep, in the absence of positive results. It will surely seem to you that exchanging a serene sleep for hard work is too big a sacrifice.

And today I plan to conduct a brainstorming session, the purpose of which will be to find options for spending the night. I want to find a way to reduce or eliminate nighttime sleepiness, not just find a way to ignore it.

Day 6

Typing speed and hand motility are almost back to normal. It's almost unbelievable that I'm able to feel as alert, alert and energized as ever with just 2-3 hours of sleep a night. I wish I had tried polyphasic sleep 10 years ago.

And my perception of time has also changed. Life ceased to be divided into day and night and turned into a single, uninterrupted stream. At first it is very unusual, but every day I get used to it more and more and I find more and more advantages in it.

Day 7

I continue to practice the 7th nap at 3:00 when I feel the most sleepy, but each time I feel less and less of a need for it. Today I started setting my countdown timer to 25 minutes instead of 30. I feel like it would be better this way. 30 minutes is too long. I often wake up before my alarm goes off.

I'm going to continue the experiment for another week before drawing any conclusions and making long-term plans. I'm tired of keeping daily reports, so now I will do them less often and only when I have some new one, interesting information For you.

Day 11

I made my first trip since the beginning of the polyphasic experiment. I was not able to stick to my standard sleep schedule (every 4 hours) and had to sometimes increase my sleep intervals to 6s extra hours or trying to poke around in the car while my wife was driving. Overall, I was amazed at how well it works. I had no problem sleeping in the car or taking a 6-hour nap break.

Of course, car naps are a half-measure. Of course, I am able to sleep while sitting, but still lying in bed or on the sofa, I rest much better. However, this was enough for me to feel great until the next opportunity to sleep.

Now I have learned to fall asleep in 1-2 minutes, every time I lie down. On average, I lie down, fall asleep, sleep and dream, wake up and get up in 15 minutes. So it's not long at all, even if you leave the company in the middle of a conversation.

Overall, I found polyphasic sleep to be a very practical and very flexible tool. I am still under the impression how easily I adapted to this trip.

Day 18

I have come to the conclusion that polyphasic sleep is much more flexible than I originally thought. I completely gave up on scheduled sleep. Now I allow my body to tell me to take a nap, and this alignment suits me completely. I feel good if I go to bed 6-7 times a day, and not always at regular intervals. The intervals between sleep are usually 5-6 hours during the day and 2-4 hours at night. I freely change my sleep time from day to day. There is no need for a clear schedule.

The 12th day of my experiment was not very successful. I missed one daytime sleep and gaps between daytime sleep pieces were more than 7 hours. And when I woke up at 22:30 after another dream, I decided not to get up immediately, but to lie around a little ... I woke up at 4 in the morning the next day. I couldn't believe my eyes that I slept for over 6 hours straight. Of course, I then returned to my usual polyphasic sleep schedule.

At first I was a little upset by this incident, but now, looking back, I'm even glad that it happened. This incident helped me more clearly understand the limits of my abilities, in particular, that one should not miss one of the naps.

Day 20

Since now my life does not have pronounced sleep breaks, I experiment with work modes. I have found the most suitable period for my main work is from 2:00 to 10:00. I like to use this time for a number of reasons. Silence in the house, general relaxation, no feeling of hunger, no phone calls, but most importantly - by 10 am, when my family wakes up, I have already done all the work planned for the day and am ready to spend time with my family.

Now that I have found optimal time for work, I'm going to experiment with scheduling the rest of my daily activities. Schedule exercise, entertainment, reading/education, meditation, family activities, etc. I had so much extra time that it became necessary to decide what to spend it on.

21 day

In food, I am less and less attracted to any cooked or processed foods. About 70% of my diet now consists of raw fruit, vegetables and nuts, in all their diversity (remember, I've been a vegan since 1997).

I resumed playing sports and have already managed to recover from the break associated with adaptation.

I note an increase in attentiveness and energy, compared to the monophasic past. It seems to me that I have increased the depth, clarity and speed of thought. The decision-making process has also changed. Now I make decisions very quickly, with little to no analysis of them. The right decision comes out by itself, without the participation of my verbal system. It looks like intuition strengthened many times over.

Day 22

I feel that time passes much more slowly than it really is. Combined with the fact that I am awake 21-22 hours a day, the illusion of time stretching in my sleep gives me the feeling that the day is being stretched almost twice. By the way, I also almost lost the intuitive feeling of the day.

For me, it turns into a transcendent, almost mystical experience. I was well used to the feeling of the flow of time, and suddenly this feeling left me. Time has become thick and viscous for me.

Day 24

External signals such as sunrise, clock showing 12:00 o'clock or kids going to bed stopped carrying for me important information. Now I listen more to my inner signals. If I feel tired, I know it's time for sleep, I take a break to take a nap, and then I return to the interrupted tasks and continue them from where I left off. It's like my internal clock is no longer in sync with my external clock. I observe external signals only as a passive witness.

Day 30

The past week was notable for its stability. The adaptation period was rather chaotic, but now I feel as comfortable as possible. I found the mode to be comfortable and reasonable for me, and it needs little to no further configuration. I enjoy the feeling of time passing by in slow motion and the whole range of benefits that my current lifestyle brings.

To evaluate the whole experiment as a whole, the phrase “this works amazingly” is best suited. The first week was the most difficult as the physical adjustment took place, during the second and third weeks the psyche was adjusted. Now I feel nothing but pleasure.

day 60

Probably the most popular question I've been asked in the past 30 days has been, "Why did I manage to adapt to polyphasic sleep when many people didn't?"

Day 90

Physically and emotionally, I feel great. I am extremely happy. It's more like a physical sensation, like my body is producing more endorphins. Sometimes I have terrible thoughts that I might explode from the energy that overwhelms me.

Now it's hard to say whether I will continue to sleep polyphasically all my life, go back to monophasic sleep, or try something else. I will stick with my current regimen until I have a good reason to switch to something else.

120 day

I tried: Skipping sleep, skipping sleep with coffee, sleeping without an alarm, 30 minutes of sleep, 30 minutes of sleep every 6 hours and some other deviations from the basic scheme.

Most of these experiments were not successful, but they gave me a feel for the limits. own capabilities. Anyway, I went back to the basic Uberman model (6 x 20 min)

Return to monophasic sleep

First of all, I must point out that I had no good reason for taking this step. I could easily continue to live in polyphasic mode and further. As I have repeatedly noted in my reports, I find many positive aspects in the polyphasic regimen.

Also, I want to emphasize that my decision to stop the experiment is not related to health. During my life in polyphasic mode, I have never been ill, not even with a cold.

The main reason I decided to come back is because the rest of the world around me is monophasic. If enough the people around me lived in a polyphasic mode, I would most likely have stayed here.

Another problem was the need to frequently be distracted by sleep, on average, once every 4 hours. Of course, I could stretch the time between two sleepovers a little, but then I needed to make up for this time. Considering that I have always liked to work 5-6 hours without a break, this annoys me a little. I don't like breaking up all my work into 3.5-hour blocks, and it really annoys me that daytime naps are constantly pulling me out of my flow state.

Another problem was family relationships. Like it or not, spouses should sleep together, in the same bed. The children did not like it when, while watching a movie, dad asked for a half-hour intermission and retired to take a nap.

Each of these factors individually is quite insignificant, but together they led me to the decision to return to monophasic sleep. There were things about polyphasic sleep that I really liked, but there were also things that really annoyed me. Even now that I'm back to monophasic again, I can't say for sure which was more. I also can't claim that I will never return to polyphasic in the future, given the right circumstances. Now, in my current life, I find monophasic to be more comfortable for me. So, from now on, I'm ready to hibernate again :)

Tags:

• steve peacock
• polyphasic sleep
• self-development