Polyphasic sleep is often associated with the genius artist and inventor of the Middle Ages, Leonardo da Vinci. He needed time to implement numerous ideas, which was always sorely lacking. Being a resourceful person, Leonardo da Vinci decided to find new reserves of time in daily sleep.
He broke the usual night rest into several parts, making it polyphasic. Now he slept for fifteen minutes every four hours. As a result, the total duration of sleep was reduced to just one and a half hours a day. The time freed from rest, Leonardo could now use for creativity. He used this polyphasic sleep for many years of his life without experiencing fatigue. Maybe this is where the mystery of the great artist's unique performance is hidden, thanks to which his works have survived the centuries and still continue to delight mankind.
What is the phenomenon of polyphasic sleep
It is known that physiologically the most productive time for work and creativity is the time after sleep. At this time, the body's performance is especially high. Interruption of the waking time every four hours, followed by a short rest leads to a sharp increase in the time of increased efficiency.
Before we get into the story of specific people who have experienced the benefits of polyphasic sleep, I would like to convey to readers the warning formulated by the director of the Sleep Disorders Department at the Massachusetts Hospital, Matt Bianchi: “Every organism is different. One person may be comfortable with polyphasic sleep, while another, as a result of such an experiment, may fall asleep while driving and crash into a pole."
So if you decide to try to switch to polyphasic sleep, we recommend that you temporarily give up driving, do not operate any heavy equipment, do not make fateful decisions - until you decide how many hours specifically you can reduce your sleep time …
According to rumors, many famous thinkers managed to reduce the time of their sleep by breaking it into several parts, among whom, in addition to the already mentioned Leonardo Da Vinci, there are Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla. However, the very first documented case of transition to polyphasic sleep is associated with the name of the architect, inventor and philosopher Buckminster Fuller.
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Fuller experimented with sleep in the mid-1900s and developed a regime called "Dimaxion" (the same name Fuller gave to his trademark, which combined several inventions).
Sleep technique "Dimaxiton" provided for half an hour of sleep every six hours - that is, about two hours a day came out. The scientist outlined his experiments in a book that was a resounding success. Fuller's ability to fall asleep for 30 seconds amazed his contemporaries. True, after a while, the scientist returned to the usual monophasic sleep - but only because of the grumbling of his wife.
But be that as it may, Fuller's case did not die, and the idea of polyphasic sleep found many admirers and followers.
In the 1980s, Italian neurologist Claudio Stampi also began to study the benefits of polyphasic sleep. He noticed that his fellow sailors were accustomed to sleeping in fits and starts without much harm or side effects.
In the course of his experiments, he examined the Swiss actor Francesco Jost, who tried to master the technique of polyphasic sleep for 49 days at home. At first, Jost's body went through shock, but then his concentration and mental state returned to a relative norm, although at times it was difficult for him to wake up. With minimal side effects, the actor was able to reduce his usual sleep time by five hours. True, this is in the short term - the long-term effect has not been studied.
Today, Internet enthusiasts are also trying to explore the possibilities of polyphasic sleep. A woman with the nickname PureDoxyk has developed her own technique called Uberman, which consists of six phases of sleep, no more than 30 minutes each: at 2 pm, 6 pm, 10 pm, 2 am, 6 am, and 10 am. The circle goes about three hours of sleep a day.
Personal development specialist Steve Pavlina has mastered this technique and achieved impressive results. The biggest problem, by his own admission, turned out to be boredom - not difficulties with concentration or insomnia. He returned to his normal lifestyle just because he wanted to spend more time with his wife and children.
The same PureDoxyk developed another polyphasic sleep mode, called "Everyman" (that is, "everyone"), which, according to its own statements, allowed her to carve out more time for hobbies, self-education and communication with her daughter.
Different polyphasic sleep techniques
What Science Says
One theory regarding alternative sleep patterns is that polyphasic sleep is generally more natural. In a 2007 report published in the journal of Sleep Research, it is said that many animals sleep several times a day and that humans most likely followed the same pattern in ancient times.
It is known that most people sleep for several hours and consists of alternating periods of slow sleep (approximately 90 minutes) and short REM sleep. We do not know the exact purpose of this alternation. However, experts believe that, most likely, different phases of sleep have different restorative effects on the body.
This raises the question of whether polyphasic sleep advocates are getting enough REM sleep, and whether they are getting it at all.
Some polyphasic practitioners claim that their technique "forces" the body into REM sleep much faster. Indeed, in his experiments, Stumpy noticed that Jost's brain sometimes entered REM sleep almost immediately. The scientist came to the conclusion that when there is a lack of sleep, the body adapts in such a way as to recover in a shorter time.
Other proponents of polyphasic sleep argue that REM sleep is not vital. Numerous studies have confirmed that a person suffers mainly from lack of sleep in general, and not from REM or NREM sleep specifically. Other studies show that REM sleep plays a role in maintaining learning ability, memory and emotional well-being, but humans can, in principle, live without them.
In addition, it is not known how polyphasic sleep can affect the health and life of a person if it is practiced continuously throughout life.
In many cases, a person's ability to maintain polyphasic sleep patterns can be genetically dependent. It is known that one to three percent of the world's population naturally needs very little sleep. This ability is given to them by the mutated DEC2 gene. Some proponents of polyphasic sleep claim that with proper technique you can convince your brain that you belong to this small group of people.
According to a recent discovery, before the invention of electricity, people slept twice a day: went to bed after sunset and slept until midnight, then woke up for a couple of hours and fell asleep again until morning. But in total, it still took 7 or 8 hours. Perhaps in the future we will return to this old scheme.
Tested on myself
Two descriptions of the transition to polyphasic sleep from Internet user blogs.
Misha Subach (Mikhail Subach):
“The experiment with polyphasic sleep was a success - I felt on my own skin all the features of this unusual sleep pattern. It was not possible to fully adapt, since I could not strictly adhere to the 20x6 mode. After the 10th day I decided to stop, for two reasons.
First, it was very annoying that I had to take 20-minute breaks during the day. It has now been almost a week since the end of the experiment, and it's hard to believe that this could really be a serious problem, but at that time it was.
The second reason - missed sleep, when you can just lie down and do nothing. Apparently I haven't identified enough interesting cases for myself.
In polyphasic mode, you become "more" - if you manage to take all your waking time interestingly, you will succeed in it even more. It's like immortality: many want to be immortal, but do not know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon."
conclusions
Polyphasic sleep is great when you have a lot to do.
Before you can benefit from polyphasic sleep, you must go through a 5-day adaptation.
Days feel twice as long as normal sleep.
It takes high motivation to adapt.
The skill of waking up and getting out of bed when the alarm rings is great helps with adaptation.
The optimal nap duration is 20 minutes.
Planning active activities for the next 4 hours before bedtime helps well with adaptation.
Sleeping every 4 hours during the day is a must, so it is necessary to foresee how this will go.
It is necessary to switch to polyphasic mode after a good sleep.
Benefits of polyphasic sleep
More time for creativity.
Interesting perception of time.
Nobody bothers you at night.
Disadvantages of polyphasic sleep
Social inconvenience.
Sleepiness during adaptation.
Recommendations
Before switching to polyphasic sleep, you need to develop the following habits:
do not drink alcohol;
do not consume caffeinated drinks (coffee, black / green tea, energy drinks, cola);
wake up at the alarm.
If you already have these habits, then get a good night's sleep and start doing 20-minute naps every 4 hours.
Make a contract with yourself and others - that you will follow this regime for 5 days without exception.
Avoid driving for the first 5 days, then - according to your health.
Optimally, the last night of monophasic sleep will be from Wednesday to Thursday. Friday will be easy, and sleep difficulties will fall on the weekend, when you can schedule the day as it is convenient. God willing, by Monday you will get used to the regime.
Slow reading, watching videos are passive ways of spending time, not suitable for the night.
zveriozha (zveriozha.livejournal.com):
1. Problems in adaptation were not in waking up after 20-30 minutes, but in falling asleep. At first, it is advised to sleep not 6, but 8 times a day - every three hours. The body, even after deprivation, refuses to sleep like that. I lie for 20-25 minutes and when the current-current starts to fall asleep - oh shit, the alarm clock rings.
2. As a result, deprivation is growing and when a dream comes in the morning, getting up after it is REALLY hard. So, oddly enough … Perhaps an easier option is to jump directly to Uberman (20-25 every four hours), rather than go into it using sleep every three hours. But in any case, training to nap every three hours is a rewarding exercise.
3. Time in such a life flows in a completely different way. The trick is that a regular sleep at 8 o'clock clearly separates one day from another. And you live discretely - day, night, next day, night. Like a two-stroke motor. When you sleep (or try to sleep) every 3-4 hours, discreteness turns into continuity. The sense of time lengthens enormously. For example, yesterday I went to the optician to order glasses, but I have a feeling that it was 3-4 days ago, but not yesterday.
4. To live like this, you must really have some kind of permanent tasks, projects. Otherwise, you will simply have nowhere to put all the time that has appeared. And if you sit at night and get bored, it will be very difficult not to fall asleep. In other words, if you suddenly want to try such a regime, then first you need to decide - why do you need it?
5. Coffee, tea, stimulants or vice versa - things that help to fall asleep in this regime are very undesirable. If you are overly alert, you will not be able to sleep at the right time, and this will lead to a breakdown later. If you are very sleepy, you can oversleep the alarm, which is also a breakdown.